Kingdom Hearts: Reformation
by yamarik
Summary: A (not seriously) proposed ending to KH3 and the Xehanort arc of Kingdom Heart. Follow the heroes of light through this (not so) epic tale, and discover the answer to a question that you've probably never pondered: why is Yen Sid retired? Rating influenced by the presence of violence, mild language, meme references, and the occasional cringe-worthy pun.
1. Separation and Memories of a Battle

Sora felt like he was wrapped in fog. Perhaps he was dreaming again. Like those times he ended up at that strange place he could never quite remember. Was he going to have to choose his path forward yet again and fend off some ridiculously strong heartless when the protections on that place wore down? He didn't think he was ready. He felt battered, as if he had been fighting in a long battle. Perhaps the place would let him sleep some more...

"It's been forever and he still hasn't woken up! What are we going to do?" The speaker's voice was familiar, but he could not think of whose it was. It pierced through the daze he was in, and awakened a throbbing headache.

"Relax, Lookalike. He'll be fine. After all, you protected us from most of the damage. I'm sure he'll be waking up any minute now." That voice was also familiar. It didn't help his headache any though. In fact, the throbbing increased unbearably.

"But look at his face. He must be trapped in a nightmare of some sort. We've gotta help him!"

"Woah there, kiddo. Are you sure you wanna go diving into his heart? Riku barely made it back when he did it, and that kid is a certified master. You've still got a ways to go before you get master status. So just enjoy your ice cream."

"But it's salty."

Sora couldn't take it anymore. His head felt like it was going to split open.

"Owwww," he moaned, curling up on his side.

"Sora? Are you okay?" the first speaker asked.

"So loud," Sora whined. "It hurts." Tears pooled up in his eyes.

"Lea, I think he hurt his head," the first speaker hissed. Sora flinched, because although the speaker's voice was now quieter, it somehow cut into his aching head more sharply.

"Ventus, unless you have a potion or the magic to cast cure on him, the best you can do is leave him alone."

What Axel said struck a chord in Sora's pain-addled brain.

"Heal," he rasped, and felt the instant effects of the spell Curaga. His body felt lighter as well, and a little less bruised, although his muscles remained weary.

"You probably should have saved that," the second speaker muttered.

Sora was finally able to sit up and open his eyes. There wasn't much to see. He was surrounded by gray; an endless sea of monotone that was neither light nor darkness. The only break from the harsh blandness was the two people near him. Hovering above him was a blonde boy with blue eyes- eyes that he knew to be the same color as his own. The boy had a piece of plate mail on one shoulder which Sora knew could become a full set of armor. From this bit of armor, Sora determined that this must be Ventus, not Roxas. He'd never figured out how to tell the two apart aside from their clothes. It didn't help that he shared his heart with both of them to a certain extent. Farther away, a man with bright red hair lounged lazily, with one leg stretched in front of him and the other bent, with one arm resting on his knee. He was staring off into the distance, but Sora knew his eyes were green. Axel. No, not Axel. Sora kept forgetting that Axel was gone, and this was Lea now.

"Where are we?" Sora asked.

"We're nowhere," Axel- Lea said.

"So where are we really?" Sora turned to Ventus, who he could at least trust to give a straight answer. Axel would find a way to give a twisted, convoluted, misleading answer to even the simplest of questions. Ask him what two plus two is, and he'd tell you something vague. Actually, he'd probably answer "Lexaeus" who had been Organization XIII's IV.

"Didn't you hear Lea?" Ventus asked. His brows furrowed. Sora sighed internally. It was easy to forget how naive Ven was, especially since his exact double, Roxas, was extremely cynical. Where Ven was eager to trust, Roxas was suspicious. Then again, Roxas would be puzzled why Sora didn't trust Axel, or rather, Lea, since the two were best friends. Roxas didn't have to worry about what antics Lea would get up to since they never were meant to bother him.

"Yeah, I did, but how can we be nowhere?"

"Sora, don't you remember what happened?" That look of concern was in Ventus's eyes again.

"Hmm, let's see," Sora mused. We were in the Keyblade Graveyard…"

 _The battle was fierce, and raging all around them. Countless heartless thronged in between the keyblades of wielders past, while they and their friends pushed ever onward. They'd had to call everyone they knew from all the worlds to help them face this threat. Up ahead, Leon and Cloud cleared a path as Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa followed, picking off the few enemies that they missed. But then Sephiroth swooped down, and Sora knew it would take all five of his friends to beat Cloud's dark side._

 _Farther back, six of the seven princesses were in a circle, using their power to prevent more heartless from spawning. Behind them, a girl sat drawing pictures. Sora knew Namine's pictures would manipulate the world, giving strength to the warriors of light and taking some of the edge off the darkness. The seventh princess, Kairi, stood in front of them, guarding them with her keyblade. Ahead of them, friends of the princesses formed a phalanx, attempting to destroy as many heartless as they could so that Sora and the other keyblade wielders could spare their energies for the challenge that lay up ahead._

 _Lightning flashed. As the ground rumbled, Sora noticed ice forming under his feet. Above him, the wind picked up, carrying rose petals along with it. The newly human members of the organization had joined the fight. He shot a grateful look to Roxas, who shrugged. Even Roxas hadn't been certain that they'd listen to him and Lea as they attempted to persuade the others to join. It would have been quite bad had the members chosen not to join the light's battle, or worse, had chosen to join their former leader in the darkness._

 _Because it was no secret who lay ahead. They had already defeated four of the Xehanorts, but another nine awaited them, including Saix and Xigbar. And Xemnas. Would the organization members turn on them after meeting the darknesses that used to be their colleagues? Or, more worrisome to Sora, would Riku succumb to his own darkness when he faced the form that had once taken over him: the heartless of Xehanort who called himself Ansem?_

 _Speaking of Riku, where had he gone? Sora had lost sight of him. They were supposed to stick together, him and Riku and Roxas. It was all part of the strategy that had been laid out for them. He had to find Riku. He couldn't lose his best friend; not again._


	2. Coping

Terra growled as he tried to stay calm. At least the darkness within him was under control. To one side, Riku was pacing frantically. At least the boy wasn't yelling or trying to open up a portal of darkness for the moment. He was inconsolable in the face of his separation from his best friend. If Terra weren't so fond of Riku, he'd regret having handed the boy a keyblade right now.

On his other side, the duck who called himself Donald was peering into the gray distance. Terra doubted it would do them much good, but at least it was harmless, unlike Riku's earlier actions. Terra sighed. Where were Aqua and Ven? He was worried about them. And Aqua would probably know what to do. Aqua. Terra pulled out the wayfinder his friend had given him so long ago. What would she do if she were here?

Well, first off, she'd comfort Riku. Turning, Terra approached the boy. It was disconcerting, walking in this gray emptiness, since distance did not exist and it took him more steps to reach the boy then he would have expected. He rested a hand on Riku's shoulder, putting a temporary halt to the boy's pacing.

"Don't worry, Riku," he said. "I'm sure they're all right. If we just believe in them, they'll- er- uh-"

"They'll what, Terra?" Riku snapped back. Oh boy. Terra had accidentally set him off again. "You don't know Sora like I do. He's my best friend, but he's an idiot. Without me to keep him in check, he's hopeless. He's probably off somewhere, having a grand old time goofing off, not even realizing this is serious. Or worse, he'll have fallen into the darkness again. Without me there to dive after him, what if Xehanort resurrects him as another darkness? What will we do then, huh? And Kairi is a princess of heart. They'll be going right after her."

"Xehanort is gone. Probably. You saw what happened."

"Yeah, we got our asses handed to us."

"But we're still here, and we can still fight and-"

"Pardon me if I'm a little skeptical of the fighting strength of a guy who spent more than a decade trapped within his heart. And me? By myself I can't face the darkness. That's why I was supposed to stick with Sora. Yeesh. And that stupid duck over there never casts any spells that'll help. You're lucky if he even remembers to heal you."

"Hey! Who you callin' stupid!" Donald yelled, waddle-stalking over to them. By the time he reached them, Riku had lost his steam. Terra remained silent, mostly because he didn't think he could argue with what Riku had said. True, if by some chance they happened upon one of the darknesses, it was likely they would fall. Except the duck. The duck would die.

Donald panted as he tried to regain his breath and his dignity. Apparently it had taken him quite a bit of effort to travel over to them. Terra looked down at the wayfinder. Aqua had promised it would help him find his way. Perhaps this was the time to let it lead them.

"I think we should try and follow this," he said, holding the charm up.

"Hey, I think Kairi has one of those. I think I saw it once."

"It's a wayfinder. It's a charm to guide you. It also represents the connection between me and my friends. Aqua and Ven that is. Y- you guys are my friends too." _Great. That wasn't awkward at all_ Terra thought.

"So how does it work?" Riku asked. "Do we throw it in the air and see which way it lands, or make a ritual sacrifice to it?" Terra looked over at Riku to make sure he was indeed joking. The boy had a small half smile on his face. If Riku could make an attempt to tease them, then that meant he had successfully calmed down. Terra felt his shoulders relax.

"No, nothing like that," he said smiling back. "We just need to think of our friends and it will help us know." _I think_ he didn't add.

He held out the wayfinder, and Riku put his hand on it. Donald put his wing on top of Riku's hand.

"Just to be safe, we should probably try to think of the same person," Terra told them.

"Sora," both Donald and Riku chorused.

"While I'd like to agree with you, Sora shares a heart with too many people. It might be confusing. Plus I don't know him all that well. Maybe King Mickey would be better. We all know him and I don't think we have to worry about his heart being in multiple people or anything like that."

Donald and Riku exchanged a look, then shrugged.

"You're probably right," Riku said with a sigh. "I'm more worried about Sora than Mickey, but it would be a good idea to find the king. He can probably help us find Sora faster."

The three of them shut their eyes and thought of Mickey. Terra found himself remembering the last time he'd seen the king.

 _The heartless were almost all gone. There were just a few darksides left. Terra charged onward, heading towards the nearest one. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Ventus supergliding ahead and Aqua's magic zipping forward, ready to take on two more of the darksides._

 _Darksides were no pushovers, but they'd all had lots of practice recently, what with all the fighting they'd done. Besides, Aqua had spent an endless age fighting them in the deepest darkness, and Ven had both raw talent and a quick learning curve to help him. He'd also been watching through Sora's eyes, just as Terra had been watching through his own eyes while his body was ruled by Xehanort. They dispatched them easily. Terra turned to his new darkside target, but some instinct caused him to leap to the side._

 _Bullets peppered the space where up until a moment ago he had been. Xigbar. Terra ground his teeth. Of his three friends, he was the least suited to fighting Xigbar. He looked to the side to see that Aqua and Ven had a challenger of their own: Saix. While his friends were both nimble, one hit from Saix would half kill them, and one hit from Saix often led to many more. Terra had to help them._

 _He started towards them only to be stopped by more shots from Xigbar. He'd have to take out the man first. The last time they'd fought, he'd only won using the power of darkness. The last time they'd fought, the man had merely been Braig, and hadn't been as powerful._

 _Well I've gotten stronger too, Terra thought, and surged forward. He slashed with his keyblade, and hit-_

 _The empty space where Xigbar had been. Terra had forgot the man could teleport._

 _"_ _Reflega!" Someone yelled, and a shield formed around Terra, protecting him from the bullets that would have torn into him. A mouse came hurtling through the air to land next to him._

 _"_ _Thanks Mickey. I've got this. Help Aqua and Ven."_

 _"_ _But Terra, are you sure?" the king asked._

 _"_ _No need to worry, your majesty. I will be helping Terra," a newcomer stated calmly._

 _"_ _Master Eraqus?" Terra gasped._


	3. The Witch Without her Power

Namine took one look at the grayness that they had landed in and pulled out her sketchbook. Since the day she had been given a complete existence separate from her original, Kairi, she made sure she carried her sketchbook and crayons everywhere. She was useless as a fighter, unlike her original, but with her sketchbook she was a witch with the power to influence the worlds. First thing first- she drew herself, and her two companions- a blue haired woman with deep sadness in her eyes and a strange dog-like creature named Goofy. They were nice enough- Goofy had been very forgiving when they first met in Castle Oblivion, despite the fact that she had been manipulating the memories of him and his two companions, Sora and Donald, and Aqua had been a mentor to Kairi and Namine as they struggled to move forward- but Namine had other people who she considered to be more important. It was time to draw them in.

First, she'd draw Kairi. Even though Namine had a heart of her own now, she still felt a strong connection to her original. Kairi was her friend who she could talk to about anything- the silly boys who surrounded them, their fears, their hopes and dreams, everything. After Kairi would be Namine's other two best friends, Lea and Roxas. Roxas would have been first, since Namine had a crush on him and was hoping that after the war was over he'd ask her out, but whenever Namine was with Lea and Roxas, as strong as the friendship between the three of them was, she couldn't help but feel like she was a replacement for Xion.

Every now and then, a look would cross Roxas's face, and she could tell he was remembering his friend and regretting that as a replica she could not be brought back as he and Namine and the other nobodies had been. It made Namine feel lonely, and drew her closer to Kairi, who may not have been able to understand the feeling of being a replacement, but did understand the difficulties of getting between two boys who were best friends to the point that one had to question if their bromance wasn't something more.

Absorbed in these thoughts, Namine began to add Kairi to the drawing. The crayon she was using broke. That had never happened before. She selected another crayon, and it broke too. She went through all the crayons she could use to draw Kairi, watching them fall to pieces in her hands. It was frightening. She then tried to draw Roxas and Lea, to much the same effect. Finally, in a panic, she tried drawing everyone else she could think of who was fighting for the light- Sora, Donald, Mickey, Riku, Terra, Ventus- the crayons still broke. And when she tried to draw the princesses, the crayons crumbled outright. Her legs collapsed under her, and she fell. Tears were pooling in her eyes.

A gloved hand almost obscured by a pale blue sleeve entered her vision and took hold of her own. Namine looked up to see Aqua looking down at her. Aqua shook her head, a gentle smile of understanding on her face.

"I'm sorry, Namine. I don't think that'll work."

Namine let Aqua hug her close as her tears began to fall. She just needed to cry it out, she was sure. Once she had, she would feel less panicked, and would realize that it just meant that there was a limit to her power, not that they would never see their friends again.

"Gawrsh, this place sure is strange," Goofy said after Namine had released Aqua.

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.

"A-well, the only place I've ever seen that didn't have any people was the darkness, but this here doesn't seem like the darkness at all, if you ask me."

"You're right. And having spent so long within the deepest darkness, I can tell you that even in darkness there is a landscape, but here we don't even have that."

"Does this mean we're not done fighting?" Namine asked. Her voice squeaked a bit, and she bit her lip as she tried to keep her breath from hitching out of control again.

"I'm not sure. I think there were still seven more darknesses…" Aqua said, her voice trailing off.

Was that right? Namine tried to remember.

 _Namine was drawing frantically. She had never drawn so fast, or so much, but right now people's lives depended on it. She was worried she'd stretch her power too thin, but it had to be done, because what if someone died because she hadn't drawn protections for them, or changed the world to their advantage?_

 _The fact was though, that she couldn't keep up. The battle was too fast for her, and it seemed that every time she looked up, things were completely different. It was chaos. The only things that remained constant were her and the princesses. Aside from them, everything was a mess._

 _Namine was not used to feeling so powerless. Sure she hadn't been able to go against the organization when she'd been in their care, nor had she been able to argue against the agenda of DiZ and Ansem (who were really Ansem the wise and Riku), but she had not been powerless then. Had she put her mind to it, and been willing to make sacrifices, she could have done things on her own those times. Here though, she could not control the battle. She was not some great witch. She was weak. And she hated it._

 _An orange light appeared above the battlefield. Namine frowned. Kairi looked back at her, also confused. Before the battle, it had been agreed that an orange light was the signal to regroup around the princesses. It was supposed to be used if the princesses were in danger. Yet as far as Namine could see, and from the looks of things, as far as Kairi could see, they were fine. Just what was going on?_

 _The wielders all came struggling back. As they moved through the lines of enemies, their allies surged forward to form a defensive line. Many of them would likely die. Namine did her best to sketch them all, drawing circles of magic around them as an extra shield. They wouldn't hold against any of the darknesses though._

 _An old man strode forward, half carrying another man- Terra. Aqua rushed over to heal her friend, who smiled his thanks. The old man released Terra and rested a hand on Aqua's shoulder before standing in the midst of the wielders with a commanding presence. They were to listen to him._

 _"_ _I have news," he said. His voice had a slight accent to it. His craggy face was scarred. He seemed somewhat familiar, until Namine realized she had seen a photo of a younger version of this man once, in Yen Sid's tower. This was Master Eraqus, who had trained Aqua and Terra and Ventus. He had been believed to be dead, but when they had freed Terra's heart from the control of one of the darknesses, vanquishing that first of the thirteen darknesses, Eraqus had also been freed. On the verge of death, the master had chosen to cast his heart into that of his student to help protect him. It seemed even now he still dedicated himself to the care of his student._

 _The wielders and Namine all leaned in, intent on listening. The six princesses who held the darkness at bay were too deep in concentration to be aware of the gathering around them._

 _"_ _Yen Sid saw the future. In the future he saw, our forces are insufficient. In order to prevent that future, he has decided he will once again take up the mantle of master, and cast his keyblade into our fight as well."_


	4. Looming Danger and Final Prologue

Roxas did not like the way Kairi kept staring at him, as if she expected something of him, or perhaps as if she were looking for traces of his original. He wanted to shout at her that he wasn't Sora. But then again, he spent most of his time wanted to shout at people, particularly when they seemed to expect him to be someone he wasn't, such as Sora. Or worse, Ventus. He hated how sometimes it felt like no part of him was his own.

Mickey waved him over. Roxas was a bit surprised how hard it was to move, but this place did feel rather wrong. It felt so empty, and lonely, and just not right. Too neutral. When he reached the king, the mouse beckoned him to lean closer.

"Roxas, I think we have a very important task ahead of us. We're gonna have to protect Kairi. We might very well be the last survivors, and we can't let the hopes of our friends go to waste."

"Hold on. What makes you think no one else made it out? Just because they're not here…" He trailed off, realizing how lame the words sounded. Did he really not have any better arguments? "I mean, those guys- Terra, Aqua, and Ventus- they have armor right? They'll be fine, and uh- Lea, uh, Lea came back when he vanished before so he-" Mickey was shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Roxas, but I'm just not sure that would be enough. Even if it is, we oughta go ahead and move forward as if they aren't alive because then we can't fall to the darkness when the last traces of hope disappear."

Roxas didn't know what to say. Were their friends really gone? And since when was the king such a pessimist? Finally, one question penetrated the confusion inside his head.

"So then what are we going to do?" What could they do, more like. There was nothing. Just gray everywhere. And if moving was hard, then it would take forever to move close enough to discern whether there was more than just gray at some distant, not-yet-visible place.

"We're going to be the light." Mickey's answer was so vague, Roxas wanted to scream. He didn't though. He'd had plenty of practice at keeping his inner rages to himself. At least that was one thing that made him different from the others. Sora and Ventus were both ridiculously happy-go-lucky. Roxas was the only one of them who didn't spend all his time with his head in the clouds and a vague smile on his face. He loved them both like brothers, but like brothers, they were likely to drive him insane.

"Uh, guys?" Kairi said. Roxas did not even register that she had spoken.

"Look, Mickey- your majesty- I hate to be a spoilsport pessimist and all but, what's the point? There's nothing here, just us. No darkness. If there's no darkness, do we really need light? I mean, isn't that going against the whole balance stuff that Master Yen Sid is always spouting?"

"Guys?" Kairi waved as she tried to get their attention.

"Well, gee, Roxas. I didn't think of it that way. Even so, Kairi is a princess of light so as long as she's around, the light is too. And we have to protect that light."

"Hey, I really think you should-" Kairi began. She was struggling over to them.

"But your majesty, what if we end up like in the beginning, where people got greedy and tried to keep the light to themselves? We might end up doing more harm than good."

"HEY!" Kairi yelled, throwing her hands into the space between Roxas and Mickey. The two turned to stare at her, bewildered. "I think you should take a look at that." She pointed off into the distance.

As they peered in the direction she had pointed, Roxas could see a figure slowly growing larger. For a second, he thought it might be Sora, and he felt his spirits lift. If Sora was okay, chances were that everyone else would be too. Namine would have a hard time on her own, but surely Axel would have gotten her out. They were alright, weren't they?

But as the figure approached, Roxas felt his spirits sink again. The figure approaching them looked like Sora, but some things were different. This boy was a bit more muscular, and his hair was darker. Roxas had heard of a boy like this from Ventus. He wanted to tell the others to run, but his voice died in his throat.

"Vanitas," Mickey said vehemently, like the name was bitter.

Even though the boy was still far away, he raised an arm as if he'd heard and was acknowledging it was indeed him.

"Um, what's that I was saying about no darkness?" Roxas said, taking a slow step back.

"Kairi, get behind us," Mickey ordered. Kairi complied, though she, like Roxas and Mickey, summoned her keyblade.

Roxas couldn't believe this was possible. He was certain the darknesses had been destroyed, hadn't they? After all, Yen Sid had joined the battle.

 _After Eraqus announcement, there was silence. Roxas wasn't certain how to feel. He was disappointed to discover that even after everything they had been through and all the battles they had fought, they were still doomed to lose. But he was also hopeful since wasn't that the point of the announcement, to let them know they were going to win after all? But he was also skeptical, since while everyone knew Yen Sid was a great master, possibly the greatest ever, he had long since retired. Was he still the powerful wielder he had once been? Could he really turn the tide of the battle?_

 _"_ _We'd better start evacuating," Mickey said, and Eraqus nodded. Evacuate? Why were they evacuating?_

 _"_ _Unfortunately, Master Yen Sid is already on his way here. I will not be able to get everyone else out, only those of you who are here," Master Eraqus informed them._

 _"_ _What do you mean you can't get everyone out?" Sora shouted. "Those are our friends! We can't just leave them behind!"_

 _Eraqus looked at the boy who addressed him. As usual, Sora was speaking passionately, throwing his hands all over the place and touching his heart a lot. A murmur went through the wielders as they all agreed that, as keyblade wielders, they could not simply abandon everyone._

 _"_ _Is it that dangerous to stay here?" Everyone turned to look at Aqua when she asked this._

 _"_ _I would not be telling you to evacuate if it were not necessary. If you get out, your friends can be restored, much like when the worlds fell to darkness. But if you choose instead to rescue them and stay yourselves, you will all be lost forever, and they may not even survive. And if any darkness survives, the dark will triumph. This is the only way. You must go._

 _Before anyone else could protest, they were almost crushed by the sudden displacement of air as Yen Sid arrived on the battlefield. Eraqus cast a spell, though Roxas could not hear what it was, and they were all encased in a sort of bubble. The walls of the bubble made it hard to see, but what he could see left him awestruck. Yen Sid's keyblade was transparent, as if it was made of sheer power and had no actual physical form. Stars swirled around the old magician, forcing the darknesses to their knees. And Roxas understood. Nothing could withstand such power. Yen Sid was simply too strong, and that was the reason for his retirement. Roxas felt silly for ever believing Yen Sid was merely a feeble old wizard of bygone powers._

 _The whirling of the stars around Yen Sid suddenly stopped, and their bubble, which had been slowly retreating, was blasted away. He felt someone grab him, although he couldn't see who since at the moment they were blasted backwards, a bright light had blinded him, and his eyes had yet to clear. When he could see, there was nothing left, just grayness, and Kairi and Mickey and some bright object that Mickey called the star shard._


	5. Sora, Lookalike, and Leader

"So let me get this straight. You're saying that Master Yen Sid destroyed all the worlds?!" Sora yelped.

"Bingo," Axel said. He sounded as if he were enjoying this.

"When I was training with Master Xehanort, he told me that if his old master hadn't retired, there would have been no need for any other keyblade wielders," Ventus whispered.

"Yeah, and Xemnas used to tell us back in the organization that we were still too weak because there was someone who could take on the entire organization at once and win. Problem was, even if we did get strong enough to beat that old man, our teamwork always sucked, so I doubt we'd have ever been a threat. Man he's strong."

"But why did he destroy all the worlds?" Sora's voice was still an octave too high.

"I thought we just told you. He couldn't help himself. The old boy is just too strong. Got it memorized?" Axel- danggit, he was Lea, not Axel!- said.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Sora whispered. He felt like everything was hopeless.

"Sora, didn't you hear Master Eraqus? He said that we could bring our friends back. That's what we have to do. We'll rebuild the worlds and once there's a place for them, I'm sure everyone will come back and we'll surely find everyone."

"Yeah yeah yeah, cool stuff. In the meantime, Lookalike, tell me about this star thingy of yours," Lea said, holding up Ventus's wayfinder.

"Ah!" Ventus yelped. "That's my good luck charm! Aqua made it for me. It's supposed to represent the connection between our heart."

"Kairi has a charm like that!"

"Well, if this little star thingamajig represents the connection between hearts, it seems it'll be useful with what we've gotta do." Lea studied the wayfinder, holding it above his head while Ventus tried to jump and grab it from him.

"It's not a star whatever, it's a wayfinder! Give it back!"

"A wayfinder? Now that's a good name. Perhaps I should hold on to this, since I'm appointing myself leader of our little club here."

"It's mine. Magnet!" Ven yelled, and the charm was drawn from Lea's hand to him.

"Relax, Lookalike. I was just joking. I would have given it back."

"Can you stop calling me Lookalike?"

"But you are a Lookalike."

"Are you kidding me? I'm older than Roxas, which means he's the one who looks like me!"

"Ventus has a point. Plus, since he was resting inside my heart all that time, that means Roxas's appearance came from him. He was the only nobody who didn't look like his original, except Namine."

"So which one of you two is the mommy, and which one is the daddy? I honestly can't tell with you two. Though I suppose I should be nice to you two if I want to ask for your son's hand in marriage." Sora and Ventus groaned.

"Axel, cut the jokes. This is no time for that."

"I think it's the perfect time for it. And if you call me Axel again, Sora, I'm gonna start calling you Xion."

"Why Xion?"

"Why not? I'm certainly not calling you Roxas. Now that you two are fully separate, that'd be just weird."

"Um, I think you guys should stop," Ventus said. His voice shook a little.

"But-" Sora protested.

"Sora, I don't think it's a very good idea to fight with our leader."

"He's not our leader!"

"Ha! Thanks Lookalike. I'm promoting you to navigator. You work your wishing star nonsense and find us the way. Sora, if you keep being so negative, we're going to have to leave you behind."

"Negative? Me? I'll show you. I'll be the most positive person in the world! See?" Sora made a ridiculous face. Ventus peered at his face in fascination. Lea burst out laughing.

"You look like an idiot. Of course, you kind of are, but, anyways, it's easy to be the most positive person in the world when right now, we're all that's left."

"We're not all that's left. Our friends are out there. I can feel it."


	6. Pack-mule Terra

Terra wasn't sure how he'd gotten into this situation. It had started when the duck had tripped. That much was certain. Because one trip had turned into several, until Terra took pity on the duck and started carrying him. He could say how he'd ended up carrying the duck. What confused him though, was Riku. How exactly had the boy ended up sitting on his shoulder again?

"Terra, let me tell you how much I appreciate this. Really I do. Don't ever change, okay? But as I was saying, you're a real lifesaver you know? I mean, after that battle Sora and I fought with Xemnas when we were taking down the organization- perhaps you remember that battle, seeing as how he was the nobody of Xehanort after he had taken over your body so in some ways he was you- but after that battle, since I got injured and all, I still get these aches in my bones when walking long distances, and it's harder to walk here than normal, and you're really helping me out. You're a real pal, Terra."

Ah right. The boy had figured out soon after their first meeting that Terra was a pushover. Riku loved messing with him. And Terra always ended up letting him get away with it. It was rather frustrating at times like this.

"Riku, stop being lazy!" Donald yelled across Terra.

"I'm not being lazy. And besides, if Terra had a problem with it, he'd tell me to get off, right?"

"You are too being lazy!"

"And you're not? I don't see you walking, Donald."

"I don't have a choice! Terra picked me up before I could stop him."

"I never heard any protest from you. Just 'thank you!' and no 'hey! I can take care of myself.' And it is really hard to imitate your voice. I think I just hurt my vocal chords."

"Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not making fun of you. I'm just stating facts. Besides, shouldn't you be a bit nicer to me when I'm the only one of us who was given the title of master?"

"I was given the title of master," Terra interrupted. "But it was Xehanort who called me that, and only so he could manipulate me, so I choose not to use it. I'll wait for Eraqus to bestow that title on me."

"Being a master doesn't mean you can be a jerk!" Donald yelled as if Terra hadn't spoken. Riku leaned forward, balancing very precariously on Terra's shoulder, so that Donald could see him shrug. With a cry of outrage, Donald cast thunder. Riku calmly blocked it with his dark shield.

"That's it," Terra said, and dropped Donald as he shrugged Riku off his shoulder. "If you two are going to fight, do it when I'm not in between you. I will not be collateral damage. And also, we're all we have right now, so don't you think we should try to get along?"

Riku and Donald looked at each other, then scowled and looked away. After a moment, Riku stretched a hand behind him, towards Donald.

"Truce?"

Donald kept his wings crossed a moment longer before turning around and thrusting a wing into the boy's hand. "Truce."

Terra sat down and lay back. These kids would be the death of him.


	7. The First Heart

They stayed a while so that Namine could achieve full calm. She had stopped crying, but her breath still hitched. She felt ashamed for crying, especially over such a childish thing, but she was grateful that neither Goofy or Aqua seemed to mind. While Aqua sat with her, patting her back, Goofy showed some shield tricks, purposely messing some up to make her laugh. But still, they couldn't sit around forever. Finally, able to breathe normally, Namine stood up.

"If we survived, it's possible some of the remaining seven darknesses also survived. It just seems too easy for them to have died just like that," Namine said.

"Indeed. Master Xehanort trained alongside Master Eraqus under the tutelage of Master Yen Sid, so he too would be aware of the Master's power. While he wouldn't have had an advance warning like Master Eraqus did, it's not unlikely that Xehanort could have thrown up some kind of shield too," Aqua replied, looking grim.

"But they'll be all split up like we were. We can take care of it," Goofy said.

"Still, we should try to regroup just in case," Aqua said. Namine's heart soared. They were going to find Kairi and Roxas and Lea and the others?

Aqua pulled out a blue star-shaped charm at the end of a battered string. She closed her eyes and held the item to her chest. When she opened her eyes, she pointed with the hand holding the star. "This way," she said, sounding certain.

"You have a wayfinder?" Namine asked. Kairi had one, made of seashells. Kairi had promised that when everything was over they would go to the beach on the island she used to play on, and there she'd teach Namine to make one, and then they'd make more for their friends. If Aqua already had one though, the idea of giving everyone their charms seemed a little lame, since hers was so nice and Kairi didn't think she'd be able to make them very well. Also, Aqua held hers like it was a very important treasure. She might not be willing to accept another.

"Oh this? Yeah. I made one for me and also for Terra and Ven back when Terra and I were going to take our mark of mastery exam. It helped me hold on when I was lost in the darkness."

Yup, Aqua probably wouldn't want some poorly made Thalassa shell wayfinder. Well, that was three less to make at least. So much for sharing a gift. Namine remained silent as they trudged forward. The had only the wayfinder to guide them, and even that wasn't much since they couldn't actually tell if they were moving at all. It was exhausting work, since each step took ten times the effort, and soon they found themselves thinking of nothing other than lifting the next foot and taking another plodding step.

When Aqua stopped all of a sudden, Namine went sprawling. Aqua didn't notice as she was too busy looking at her wayfinder.

"I don't understand. It wants us to be here. I thought it would lead us to the others!" Aqua cried.

"Are you alright, Namine?" Goofy said, reaching out to help Namine to her feet. Namine ignored the hand though, or rather, she didn't see it. She pushed herself to her hands and knees, then surged forward towards what had captured her attention.

"Aqua, Goofy, look at this!" she called, even though they were only a couple of steps away. She crouched in front of "this", which was a small glowing orb. Namine tried to grab hold of it, but her hand went right through it. A beam of light suddenly touched it, and Namine looked up to see Aqua holding out her keyblade, which was the source of the beam. Aqua had a puzzled frown on her face.

"It feels like a heart," she murmured.

"A heart? But it's so small and dim," Goofy said.

"Remember what Master Eraqus said? About how we could bring people back? I think this is what he meant. When we find their hearts, we can restore them." Namine was excited. If it was a matter of piecing together hearts, she had done that before. This would be a little different than putting Sora's heart back to rights after she had damaged it, but she would have help, and this time she didn't have an ever-shortening time limit while the organization tried to stop her. They could do this.

"This is the heart of a world," Aqua said, her eyes closed as if she were concentrating on discovering the secrets of the heart she had connected to. "It has stored the hearts of all the people as well, though they'll have to be restored separately.

Namine pulled out her remaining crayons and her sketchbook.

"Just tell me what to draw."


	8. Dealing with a Devil

"Hey Ventus, you weenie. Come give me a hug," Vanitas called. Roxas felt his jaw clench involuntarily.

"I'm not Ventus, and I don't like hugs!" he yelled back.

"I don't believe you," Vanitas's voice said from on his left. The distant form vanished, and Roxas whirled to see Vanitas had closed the distance as if it weren't there. "You can't expect me to believe it isn't you, Vent. And I just know you love hugs."

"Blizzaga!" Mickey yelled, and Vanitas vanished, reappearing farther away.

"Geez, that wasn't nice. I just want to talk to my old pal here."

"I told you, I'm not Ventus! I'm Roxas!"

"Roxas, I think he's just messing with you," Kairi whispered.

"Only Lea is allowed to tease me, so he can shut up," Roxas growled.

"But Lea isn't here, and someone's gotta get your hackles up," Vanitas said, reappearing yet again. This time he had the gall to appear leaning on Roxas's shoulder. Roxas slashed at him with his keyblade, and Vanitas dodged it, then resumed leaning on Roxas. That was it. Roxas summoned his second keyblade and attacked again from Vanitas's blind spot. Vanitas did manage to dodge again, but just barely. He whistled appreciation for Roxas's attack.

"Well then, I guess if you're going to be so serious I better stop playing around." His voice was behind them. Roxas whirled away from the Vanitas in front of him to see Vanitas holding Kairi. He looked over his shoulder but there was no one there.

"Vanitas, let her go!" Mickey yelled.

"Not until you listen to the helpful little hint I have for you guys."

"Do you think we're stupid? Like we'd trust you!" Roxas yelled.

"Mousie, how 'bout you stop trying to sidle around me please, and I'll explain that even if you can't trust me, surely you'll trust your old grandpa Eraqus."

"It's still coming from you," Kairi said, sounding rather calm for someone being held captive.

"Ah, princess, you're breaking my heart."

"Ven says it's already broken," Roxas informed him.

"You got me, there." Vanitas released Kairi and held out both arms to indicate he wasn't a threat. Neither Roxas or Mickey moved from their ready stances. "But will you guys hear me out anyways? Please?"

Roxas almost dropped his keyblades. Vanitas did not seem like the kind of person to say please. Kairi seemed to have decided to trust Vanitas, as she let her keyblade vanished and turned to face him.

"What's this supposed message of yours?" she asked.

"Well, first of all, it's not really a message per say. He just wanted me to pass on some information." Roxas began tapping his foot with impatience, and Vanitas's eyes glanced towards it, recognizing what it meant. "I'm supposed to report that everyone made it out okay. As for us darknesses, well, I'm evidence of what happened to most of us, but at least um," he began counting with his fingers. Finally, he nodded and looked back at them. "At least four darknesses remain as darknesses. So as well as bringing back all the worlds and their people, you guys have to keep an eye out for those guys and beat 'em up if you want to keep them from making everything all dark again. So keep an eye on the worlds you've restored after you fix 'em, kay?"

"So what did happen to you, that you're being all nice to us?" Roxas spat.

"Wait? I was being nice? Thanks for warning me. I'll make sure to stop now."

"Vanitas," Kairi said warningly, then paused. "That is your name right? We weren't really introduced. I'm Kairi." She held out a hand for a handshake. Vanitas, Roxas, and Mickey all stared at her extended hand. "C'mon, introduce yourself. It's not like I've got one of those little buzzer things in my palm, so hurry up and let's be friends."

"Friends? Heh. I don't think so princess. I don't have friends and, hold on. You said Kairi? Shit, you really are a princess. Better stop calling you that. Otherwise I'll seem all respectful."

"Trust me, no one would ever make that mistake," Roxas said dryly.

"You still haven't told us what happened to you," Mickey reminded Vanitas. Vanitas sighed.

"Geez, why can't you just leave it alone, okay? It's kinda embarrassing."

"We won't laugh," Kairi said.

"Speak for yourself," Roxas muttered.

"Whatever Yen Sid chased Xehanort out of our hearts. Without him, well... "

"Well what?" Kairi pressed.

"Apparently I had some light in my heart, okay?" Vanitas shouted, blushing.

"What's so embarrassing about that?" Mickey asked. "Everyone has light in their heart. Most people have some darkness too. Xehanort taking the light from your heart was unnatural."

"I started without any light, mousie. I was the darkness incarnate from Vent's heart."

"But you both grew until you had complete hearts of your own. Him with some dark, and you with some light." Vanitas's blush deepened.

"Well, whatever. I'm supposed to go look for the others. Unless Isa and Braig beat me. But I doubt it. I'm way faster than either of them."

"Wait, Isa and Braig? I thought Terra Aqua and Ven defeated those two," Roxas butted in.

"Well they weren't dead yet. But they were pretty badly off so they'll be even slower. They're like snails right now." Vanitas laughed. "Anyways, I think Isa said something about an old friend, and Braig wanted to bug ol' Terra some more. Which means I've gotta find everyone else and let them know how things stand. Toodles!"

Vanitas summoned his keyblade, jumped onto it, and flew off.

"Don't get killed, okay," Kairi called after him. Roxas and Mickey shook their heads as they released their keyblades. And here Roxas had thought Sora was the one who would make friends with just anyone.


	9. World building?

"I'm telling you, that thing is totally broken."

"Lea, for the last time, it's a wayfinder, and it's not broken. Why don't we rest a while and then try again later? I'm sure it will lead us to the others," Ventus replied.

"Okay then." Lea flopped to the ground and lay back. Sora and Ventus also lay down, unconsciously putting their heads near each other while keeping equal space between their bodies to form three spokes of an invisible wheel.

"Hey guys, if we're supposed to restore the worlds, which one do you want to do first? I think it should be some place where we can all relax, so that whenever we get tired we can come back to it," Sora said.

"No comment," Lea said. "I'm taking a nap."

"Oh c'mon Lea," Sora said, half turning over to look towards the other two. Lea faked a snore.

"Aw, let him be Sora. We can just decide without him," Ventus had been lying with his eyes closed, but he opened them to shoot a sideways glance at Sora and winked. Sora actually managed to pick up on the hint, and nodded, grinning.

"Okay. I think it should be somewhere cold."

"Or rainy."

"Well if it's someplace wet, why not underwater?"

"Underwater?! You mean there's a world like that?"

"Yup. It's called Atlantica. You have to become a merman to go there."

Lea sat up with a groan. "Ah man. You guys have got to be kidding me. Everyone knows Atlantica is the most miserable dump there ever was. Even Demyx doesn't like it there, and he loves dealing with water!" A small chuckle escaped Sora. He quickly covered his mouth, but Lea heard.

"Oh I see. You two are pulling my leg. Well. What goes around comes around, or so they say." He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Sora's leg. He stood up, holding Sora upside down. "Now whose leg is being pulled, huh?" Sora flailed around wildly, trying to get free.

"Sora, you're going to fall on your face if you keep that up," Ventus said. He sounded concerned, though that may have been in part because Lea was holding Sora pretty close to where Ventus was lying.

"Ventus, help me!" Sora cried. His face was slowly turning red. Above him, Lea winked at Ventus.

"Uh…"

Lea suddenly tossed Sora in the air, and caught him so that he was being carried princess-style. Sora screamed.

"So, I'm guessing we won't start with Atlantica," Ventus said.

"I don't know, what does Sora think? As the leader, I like to hear all opinions."

"I agree." Sora's voice was a squeak.

"You know Lea, that wasn't very nice. You knew we were just joking," Ventus scolded.

"Ugh, you're starting to sound like some old man."

"Lea, we're the same age."

"Maybe. But you still look like a pipsqueak."

"If I'm a lookalike as well as a pipsqueak, then your dearest Roxas is a pipsqueak too."

"I never said he wasn't."

"Axel, er, Lea, I'm flattered to be getting special treatment and all, but could you please put me down?" Sora interrupted.

"Huh? Oh sorry Princess Sora." Lea calmly set Sora down.

"Hey! I'm not a princess!"

"You can be my princess any day," Lea said.

"Stop that!"

"As you wish, your highness."

"Ven, make him stop!"

"Yes, your majesty," Ven said with a bow. While still bent over, he lifted his head and grinned at Sora.

"Ven!"

"Way to go navigator lookalike pipsqueak," Lea said, giving Ventus a high five.

"At this rate, I'm going to collect so many nicknames that you won't be able to address me because it'll take too long."

"Don't worry. I've got them all memorized."

"So guys, about the worlds…"

"Not the Keyblade Graveyard," Ven said. "I've seen far too much of that place, and none of it has been happy."

"Duly noted."

"Why not Twilight Town?" Lea suggested.

"I would have thought you'd want to go home to Radiant Garden," Ven said.

"Wait, _you're_ from Radiant Garden?" Sora asked.

"Surprised? Hehe. All of us first eight in the organization are. Well, except Xehanort. But me and Isa, Braig, Aeleus, Dilan, Even, and Ienzo all started out there. Big Nort came there later. Aside from Isa and me, they all worked for Ansem the Wise. I thought you read that guy's diary, Sora."

"The Ansem Reports never mentioned you."

"Ouch. Anyways, I'd rather Twilight Town, because Radiant Garden has a rather dark history- pun intended. Darkness would be just as at home there as us. Best to not. Plus I have some good memories in Twilight Town."

"Okay, so one vote for Twilight Town."

"Based on Lea's reasoning, I guess I shouldn't suggest the Land of Departure after all. Since it was also that Castle Oblivion place."

"Yeah I'd rather not go back to Castle Oblivion."

"But Sora, you were so cute running around Castle Oblivion, completely… oblivious to what was happening, and waving your keyblade all over the place trying to protect you dear Namine and-"

"What are you talking about, Lea?"

"Oh right. You forgot. Well then what do you suggest?"

"I was going to say Destiny Islands. We could stay on the abandoned island."

"So Destiny Islands or Twilight Town."

"Xehanort's from Destiny Islands," Ventus warned them.

"But he always wanted to leave. He wouldn't want to return."

"Well, I'm voting with Lea for Twilight Town."

"Alright, Twilight Town it is. Let's hurry up and rebuild it. I've got a surprise for you guys once we get that place up and running," Lea said with an idle smile.

"A surprise?" Ven and Sora chorused.

"Yeah. I was kinda planning to share it with Roxas and Namine when everything was over and all, but I guess you two will do. We can have a bonding time and get nice and cozy with each other, since we're all the company we have for the moment."

"But we'll find Roxas and Namine and everyone else, so why not just wait until then?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. And nothing is over yet, so you can't, um, do the surprise." Ven added.

"Have you two failed to notice the worlds are over?" Sora crossed his arms and planted himself solidly in front of Lea. Ventus followed suit. Lea smiled.

"Well, whatever. I can always do it again later. It's not all that special anyways, just kind of a tradition. So you two don't need to worry so much about it."

Sora and Ventus looked at each other and shrugged.

"If you say so. Leader," Sora said.


	10. Braig

They were getting nowhere. There was no way of telling if they were really moving, and they spent quite a bit of time not even trying to move. It was the duck. Terra didn't know how anyone could stand Donald. He was annoying, he was fussy, he was absolutely useless- so how was he considered to be so darn important? Just being near him made Terra wonder if he wasn't going to fall to darkness again simply so he could put the duck out of their misery.

It was ironic that Riku's somewhat twisted sense of humor- which normally did not sit well with Terra- was the one thing keeping him sort of calm. It was hard to stay angry at Donald when Riku was finding ways to turn him into one big joke.

But still, their lack of progress grated on Terra. If they weren't stopping because Donald was tired, then Riku was insisting they stop because he thought he'd heard Sora, or there was yet another issue with the wayfinder.

The wayfinder. Why was it letting him down now of all times? Was it because of the other two? Had they thought of different people after all? Why else would the wayfinder be sending them this way and that, as if it couldn't make up its mind whether to send them here or there. If the wayfinder weren't so precious to him, he'd throw it.

"Hey, check this out?" Riku yelled, bringing them to yet another stop. Terra sighed. What now?

Riku was staring at something. Terra and Donald gathered on either side of him. At first Terra didn't see anything noteworthy. Just more of that same gray that had been surrounding them for however long it had been since they got here. Finally, he realized that there was a small area of gray that was a little lighter than the rest. In fact, if he looked carefully, it was a small light; a heart that was ever so faintly shining.

As they watched, the heart zipped off, and he felt the pull of the wayfinder drawing him in the direction the heart had gone.

"After it!" he yelled. He only just heard his voice over similar yells from Donald and Riku. Even without the wayfinder, they were going to follow the heart because it was the first new thing in this grayness that they had come across.

The three of them pelted off in the direction of the heart. Surprisingly, Donald was sort of keeping up, and he wasn't complaining either. They were so intent on chasing after the heart that they almost ran over the figure crouched in their path.

"Hey, kill the motor guys. Yeesh." The figure who rose to his feet in front of them was a man with graying hair pulled back in a ponytail, a scarred face, and an eyepatch. He wore the black cloak that had once signified a member of Organization XIII, and later came to signify the darknesses. However, he had added a personal touch to his outfit with a red bandana around his neck. Somehow, Terra didn't think the look was about to become a trend.

"Braig," Terra said. His brows drew together into a glare. He had first met Braig in Radiant Garden, before the man had become one of the darknesses, and even then Braig had not been a pleasant person.

"Yo, Terra old man. Eraqus wanted me to tell you guys something."

"Which was?"

"Y'know, being face to face with you and all, I'd rather not say."

"Braig, tell us now!" Donald demanded, stalk-waddling closer.

"Oo, scary! Shame Lea isn't here. I find myself having a hankering for some roast duck."

Terra held out a hand to stop Donald from going any further, and prayed the duck would have the sense not to cast any spells. He didn't. Braig sidestepped Donald's firaga spell.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I never intended to pass on Eraqus's message, since I certainly wouldn't do it after that. You've got to think about the consequences of things. Someone comes to you with a message. You try and use magic against him. He doesn't give you the message. Who is surprised? No one! I don't know how you guys were ever a threat to us when you're all such idiots."

"If you weren't going to give us the message, then why did you come?" Riku asked.

"Well, let me think. Oh yeah. To kill you. Just because I'm no longer Xehanort doesn't mean I approve of you lot getting in the way of his plans."

Braig pulled out his crossbow guns, but Terra was already knocking Donald and Riku aside. Riku rolled and recovered, and attacked. Terra did too, but had to pull back almost immediately to avoid a poorly aimed spell of Donald's.

For all that he was older than them, Braig was quite agile. He nimbly dodged their attacks and countered with shots of his own. They were able to counter some of his projectiles, but with little success. Terra wasn't sure they could win like this. Even with Eraqus's help, he'd still gotten injured the last time he and Braig fought. Riku was good, but he wasn't Eraqus, and Donald was just as liable to hit them with some friendly fire as he was likely to make a successful attack on Braig. He hoped the duck ran out of magic soon.

"Need some help?" A voice asked by Terra's ear. He leapt back so that he could search for the speaker at a safe distance from the fighting. He didn't see anyone, but that made him no less nervous, because that voice was not unfamiliar.

A keyblade sprouted from Braig's chest.

"Sorry old man, but I'm siding with them," the newcomer said. The keyblade vanished, and Braig fell forward, revealing a boy with dark hair and yellow eyes and strange armor.

"That armor," Riku said, his voice hoarse.

"Riku get back," Terra ordered, raising his keyblade. Vanitas may have killed their attacker, but there was no way Terra was falling for any of his tricks.


	11. Getting Started

Diving into the heart of the seedling world they'd found was weird. But as Aqua pointed out, Namine wouldn't know what to draw otherwise. The good news was, she only needed to see one area. Once she drew that area, she would be able to walk into the blank spaces and know what was missing.

"But Aqua, how will I draw an entire world? I don't have enough pages in my sketchbook."

"So make sure you draw an area where you can restock your supplies," Aqua said with a small smile. She was teasing, though you had to know her to realize it. Aqua's time lost in the deepest darkness had taken its toll on her. She was the most serious person Namine knew. Well, one of the most serious people.

"Goofy, we're counting on you to be our point of return," Aqua informed him. Goofy snapped to attention and saluted.

"You got it."

Without warning, the gray fell away, and Namine and Aqua were flying through a tunnel. Images bombarded Namine, embedding themselves in her memory for her to draw later. She could hardly keep up with them all. Up ahead a solid image was forming: the world that awaited them.

At first Namine thought it was a whale and panicked. She'd heard tales of Monstro, and she wasn't in any hurry to see the great whale for herself.

"I remember this place!" Aqua exclaimed. "We can see Experiment 626 again! And the grand councilwoman!"

Namine glanced at Aqua, and shrugged internally. It was a bit odd seeing Aqua so childishly excited. Still, it wasn't like it was a bad thing. Maybe in restoring the worlds, Aqua would reconnect with many old friends and her heart would heal some more.

As they got closer, Namine saw that rather than a whale, what was ahead of them was a giant space ship. Aqua pulled out her keyblade and changed it into its glider form. She reached out, and Namine took her hand, allowing herself to be pulled onto the back of the glider. Once Aqua was certain Namine was secure, they darted off to an entrance to the spaceship.

Inside, they found a round room connecting to a larger room that was also round. There was little of note in the smaller room that they were in, but in the larger room the center of the floor was lower, and in the center of that was some sort of device.

"What is that?" Namine asked.

"It's a transporter. It takes you to other parts of the ship."

"Oh. I think I've gotten enough here. Let's head back to Goofy.

Namine didn't know what Aqua did, but the next thing she knew, she was opening her eyes. She was back in the gray emptiness again, and was lying down. She felt tired in the way she felt when she woke up after having been asleep for a long time.

"Welcome back," Goofy said, waving. Namine jumped, since Goofy was not alone. Master Eraqus sat next to him, eyes closed and breathing slowly in meditation.

"Master!" Aqua exclaimed, as surprised as Namine. She tried to jump to her feet, and went sprawling instead. Namine also tried to rise, and found her limbs to be a bit stiff. Eraqus rose and offered a hand to his fallen student, who blushed furiously.

"It is good to see you all well," Eraqus said, helping his student up with a smile. "In the meantime, you have much to do before your reunion with the others."


	12. The Princess's Return

Roxas wasn't sure how Namine could ever have come from Kairi. Namine was sweet and shy. Kairi on the other hand, was fearless and opinionated. Sure, the two had a common belief in the goodness of people's hearts, but otherwise he couldn't really see any similarities. In a way, it made him glad, since it meant that Namine was not just another version of Kairi, but her own person. And if that was the case, then he wasn't just a copy of Sora either. Then again, since Sora had been lending his heart to Ventus, then Roxas probably would have been a combination of the two of them. Well, whatever the case, he was him, Namine was Namine, and everyone was themself as well.

"You guys, we shouldn't have let Vanitas go off on his own like that. What if something happens to him?" Kairi said for like the tenth time. They'd already pointed out that he didn't give them the chance to stop him, and they'd insisted he'd be fine, but Kairi kept bringing it up.

"Kairi, will you please, please-" Roxas began.

"Oh look, the heart of a world," Kairi said.

"-please, wait what?" Roxas finished.

"Well gosh. Maybe we can restore it," Mickey said.

"Yeah, how?" Roxas said.

"Well, hearts are made of light, so we'll just use the power of light. Duh." Kairi said, knocking on Roxas's head as if she was trying to confirm that it was hollow due to a missing brain.

"And I repeat: yeah, how?"

"Well gee, Roxas. I think we just have to let our light shine into the heart of the world. Since this heart is kinda dim, I think it might have forgotten the light is there," Mickey said.

Roxas was still dubious as to their plan. It sounded too simple. But he did specialize in attacks that used light, and Kairi had a heart of pure light, and Mickey was no stranger to the light either. The plan seemed as good as any.

The three of them gathered around the heart of the world. Mickey and Kairi summoned their keyblades, as if that were the most natural thing. Roxas followed suit as they formed a circle and face inward with their keyblades extended so that the points just touched right above the heart.

"Light," Kairi whispered, her eyes closed, and a soothing glow enveloped her, rising up as if from beneath her skin. The light flowed down her keyblade, gathering at the point.

Roxas closed his eyes, and felt his own light rising. He opened his eyes again to see that his keyblade too was shimmering with light. He was surprised that Mickey was the last of them to bring forth light. The three lights coalesced, and the heart rose up into their midst, getting brighter as it ascended. Soon, it was too bright to look at, and Roxas threw a hand over his eyes.

When his vision cleared he saw fountains. There were tiers where water spouted upwards, and then ran over the sides in waterfalls. Around them were stone walls.

"Oh," Kairi gasped. When Roxas looked over there were tears in her eyes. She looked over at him. "C'mon, this way," she said, beckoning as she turned towards a staircase. Mickey was already at its foot, raring to go. Apparently the two of them had been here before. Roxas followed as the two impatiently forged ahead, running at times, then stopping and waiting for him to catch up, feet tapping in irritation at his lack of energy in the newly restored world. The world was eerie though. They were entering an area filled with houses before Roxas realized why. There were no people in this world. Not anywhere.

As they progressed, they passed a house that seemed familiar. Roxas stopped to look at it, to the extreme annoyance of Kairi and Mickey, but he could not place it. Other sights seemed familiar as well. That castle towering above, for example. He was certain he'd seen it.

Ah. Sora had been here. That was why this was so familiar. The house was somewhere Sora had spent some time at, as was the castle.

Speaking of the castle, that seemed to be their destination. Or at least, it seemed to be Mickey's. The further they went the more Kairi ran here and there, saying things like "I scraped my knee here once!" and "that's where the lady who ran the ice cream shop lived". Roxas did not feel up to accompanying her on a trip down memory lane.

"What's the deal?" he asked. "If you live here, why are you acting like this is such a big thing?"

"Roxas, I haven't been home in years. This place was the first world destroyed by Xehanort, and even when it was restored I stayed in Destiny Islands."

"Oh."

"I wonder if my grandmother's heart is here somewhere," Kairi said, smiling sadly.

"I'm sure we'll find her, Kairi," Mickey said, backtracking to join them. "We'll find everyone's hearts."

"Well first, I think there's someone else's heart we should restore." Kairi and Mickey exchanged a knowing look. "I think he's an old friend of yours, your majesty."

"I was just thinking it was time to go see him."

"See who?" Roxas asked.

"Ansem," the other two answered.

"Ansem?! You mean that heartless who took over Riku and also is one of the darknesses? That guy?!" Roxas's voice rose an octave.

"No silly," Kairi said. "The original Ansem. Ansem the Wise, ruler of Radiant Garden."

"You might know him better as DiZ," Mickey added.

Roxas sat down on a low wall nearby.

"Headache," he moaned.


	13. Leap Before You Look

They never would have found it if Lea hadn't decided to tickle them. Sora managed to wriggle away, but that left Ventus to be Lea's victim, squirming hopelessly as he tried to evade the fingers that tormented him. Eventually, Ventus fell to the ground, unable to take anymore. Lea relented and chased after Sora. As Ventus tried to catch his breath, he noticed something right in front of him.

The discovery of the heart of a world elated them all, though Ventus was a little concerned that it's light was so dim.

"Hearts are supposed to be made of light, aren't they?" he asked them. "What if this one is so dim because it's really and truly dead?"

"No way!" Sora yelled. "We've gotta believe in this place. There's people who live there, and even if none of them are our friends now, they will be our friends. And we can't just abandon our friends!"

"Calm down there, kiddo," Lea said, rubbing an ear. "He wasn't saying we should abandon it. He was just worried that we're too late is all. But we're not too late, and we won't leave this world behind until it is all restored, so both of you can relax. We're not going to help anyone if we're fighting."

Ventus and Sora stared at Lea. He was acting like… an adult. Like a leader. They both shuddered. Lea not being, well, Lea-ish was rather creepy.

"All right. So we're going to help this world right? Then let's go!" Sora said, and before either of them could stop him he sent all three of them diving into the world.

"Idiot, now we're stuck here until we figure out how to restore the place!" Lea yelled.

"Hey, I know this place," Ventus said. Lea and Sora looked up to see their surroundings. They were in a plaza. There was a gazebo in the center, and a stage and a small shop with a strange machine in front of it. "Guys, we're in Disneytown."

Sora did a double take. "Disneytown?" he craned his neck while trying to look around, then sighed and jumped, soaring high.

"You're right," he said when he came down. "I saw King Mickey's castle over that way," he said, pointing.

"Okay, so we know where we are. Too bad we couldn't choose the place after all, but at least we're not in some foreign world. Great. We're still trapped here though. So let's find some people to try and help us," Lea said.

"Found some," Ventus said. Lea and Sora looked around, but no one was in sight.

"Um, Ventus? You alright kiddo?" Lea asked. Ventus looked at him and then pointed to the shop.

"Don't you see their hearts?"

Upon closer inspection, there were indeed some hearts in the shop.

"Okay, I'm gonna take a little look around," Lea told them. "Stay here and hide if anything bad comes along."

Lea set off, and Sora and Ventus agreed to head over to the shop, because where else would they hide? Inside the shop, they studied the three hearts that were their new companions.

"These hearts seem familiar," Sora said.

"Yeah. I think they're Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and-"

"Louie!" Sora finished. Of course.

"You know them?"

"Yeah. They were in Traverse Town when I first got there. And later they moved to Radiant Garden. I wouldn't have thought we'd find them here."

"But this is their shop. I fixed that machine for them before, and they were trying to make new flavors of ice cream. And thanks to them, I won the Million Dreams Award. Though Terra and Aqua tied me for first."

Ventus reached out. He had forgotten that it was only the hearts in front of him, and not his friends, so he was reaching out to pat each of them on the head. As soon as he touched the first heart- Louie's- the heart vanished and Louie appeared. Ventus and Sora stared for a moment, then reached out to touch the other two hearts. The same results occurred.

"Hey, I can't move!" came Huey's voice.

Sora and Ventus exchanged a look.

"Of course," said Ventus. "Without their world, even if we restore their hearts, there's nowhere for them to go. They're still stuck."

"But how do we restore their world?" Sora asked. Ventus shook his head. He didn't know either.

Meanwhile, Lea had meandered through a square with a line down the middle and goals at each end, and found his way to a racetrack. If he followed the track, he'd probably reach the castle. But some instinct told him not to. It was the instinct that had set the hairs on the back of his neck to prickling, and made him certain he was being watched. But who could be watching him? Everywhere he went there were no actual people, just more hearts. He'd better regroup with the other two. After all, while he could handle himself, those two were just a bit too spacey to be left alone for long. He'd probably get back to find them making flower chains or something.

As soon as Lea returned to the plaza where he'd left the other two, Sora's head popped up from below the counter of the shop.

"Hey Lea, we restored Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They can't move though," he called.

"Hootie what now?" Lea asked.

"They're Donald's nephews."

"Listen, guys, I'm not seeing anyone else, but I'm not sure we're alone. I think we should move. We might not be safe."

"Think it's darkness?" Ventus asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it's not showing itself and so I don't like it."

"Well if it's darkness, we would be safe if we went to the palace. Under the throne is the cornerstone of light. It protects this world, and it should protect us," Sora said.

"This world doesn't really exist right now, Sora."

"Going to the castle seems like a good idea," Ventus agreed. "But we can't leave the triplets here on their own."

"Great. So we're going to have to troop to the castle carrying a bunch of ducklings. Sounds like the most fun I'll ever have," Axel said drily.

"That's the spirit," Sora encouraged him. He handed Huey to Axel, picking up Dewey and letting Ventus take Louie. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah. Let's just get out of here."


	14. Dealing With a Troll

"Aw come on, give me a break," Vanitas muttered. He was in the middle of leaping through the air, dodging another of Terra's attacks, and not in a good position to dodge Riku, who was incoming. Terra had absolutely no problem with this situation, because Vanitas hadn't given him and his friends a break when they were trying to rid the worlds of the unversed, so why should he and his companions give Vanitas a break now?

Vanitas warped out of the way and skidded to a stop out of reach. Terra wanted to charge forward and kill the little punk, but if he wasted energy Vanitas would just tire him out and then he would be the one at a disadvantage. Riku apparently had the same thought, because he too was holding back, waiting for Vanitas to attack.

But they were going to just keep waiting, because Vanitas stood up, released his keyblade, and put his hands in the air to signal a surrender. Terra and Riku didn't lower their guards though, because it would be just like Vanitas to lull them into a false sense of security with a phony surrender. Donald also didn't buy it, since he cast Thundaga on Vanitas. Vanitas took the hit, flinching.

"Ow. That stings. I'm not here to pester you guys. Well, maybe pester, but not be a problem. I'm just trying to tell you that the darknesses have yet to be defeated."

"Yeah. No kidding," Riku muttered.

"We kinda figured that out when first Braig, then you, showed up," Terra informed Vanitas.

"No, seriously. Not me. I'm g-, well, I'm not exactly good, but I'm on your side. Mostly. I'm not a darkness anymore. You can release my heart from my body to check if you want. I'll wait. But don't take too long, 'kay? Eraqus said the darknesses would be going after you warriors of light, and I'd rather not be here if one of them shows up."

"So, you expect us to believe that you're not a darkness? Yeah. Sure thing. Let me put that next on my to-do list after brunch with my definitely-not-evil former pal, 'Ansem'," Riku said sarcastically.

"I like you, kid," Vanitas responded, nodding in appreciation. Riku grit his teeth so hard his jaw cracked.

"He doesn't want to be liked by you," Donald shot back. Terra supposed that was supposed to be a burn in the duck's mind.

"Now, about that armor…" Riku spat.

"My armor? What about it?"

"When I was Ansem's puppet, I had armor just like that."

"Ansem? You mean that heartless that's one of the darknesses?" Riku nodded. "I guess Xehanort just likes to reuse his designs? Look, I don't know man, I've just always worn this armor. It is literally my entire wardrobe if you're so interested, fashionista."

"Vanitas," Terra, began, about to say something nasty. He stopped when Vanitas curled in all but the first finger of one of his hands. His other hand stretched out, and gently closed around something which he drew into himself. He smiled ever so slightly at it, then slowly bent down and released whatever he held. As he stood up, Terra noticed movement coming towards them, and after a moment was able to see the world heart they'd been chasing coming towards them. He was so fixated on it, that he didn't notice Vanitas leave until the heart arrived and he looked up to find his old foe was gone.

"So how are we supposed to restore this?" Donald asked.

"Hearts are born from darkness," Riku said in a low voice. "And we know the darkness quite well, don't we, Terra?"

Terra nodded. He wasn't overly fond of what Riku was suggesting, but he didn't have any better ideas.

"Light shines better in the dark," he whispered. "Without the darkness, we wouldn't be able to see the light."

"What are you talking about?" Donald asked.

Riku held out his keyblade. Terra did the same, and summoned from within himself a power that he'd sworn he'd never use again. With their combined efforts, a globe of darkness surrounded the heart. Terra prayed it wouldn't swallow it.


	15. Experiments

It was rather lonely watching Aqua and her old master catch up, although he had come back at the same time Terra had, he had immediately departed to begin scouting, recruiting allies, and was constantly busy so his pupils had barely seen him since his return. It was a very emotional moment for the two of them, and did nothing to make Namine feel any better about anything.

Goofy was the one who cheered her up. He too, was not part of the reunion, and, as Namine was finding out, Goofy was surprisingly astute. He was aware of the feelings of those around him, and he had noticed that Namine was not coping well with this whole end of the worlds thing. So he sat with her and they talked a bit. While they talked, Namine unconsciously picked up her sketchbook and began to draw.

Goofy noticed when things began to change around them, but he said nothing and just kept on with his story about how he and Donald had set off to their meeting with Sora, and the subsequent quest they had embarked on. He had described how Donald had woken him from a nap and proceeded to make a fool of himself in front of his girlfriend and their queen, and how they had gone to Traverse Town to find Leon. He was in the midst of telling Namine how he and Donald had finally found Sora when they were attacked by heartless and fell on top of the boy before Aqua and Eraqus finally noticed what was going on.

"Namine, you're doing it!" Aqua exclaimed.

"Huh?" Namine said, having been so intent on her drawing and listening to Goofy's story that she had entered a sort of trance. "Oh. The world."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have disturbed you," Aqua apologized.

"No, it's okay. I'm almost ready to move on to the next area," Namine told her.

"You should only need to draw a few more rooms," Eraqus informed them. "The worlds want to be restored. You will find that as you go along, it will begin to piece itself back together. The same goes for the people. The more of them you restore, the more will begin to come back on their own."

Namine wasn't sure how she felt about this news. On the one hand, it meant less work and she wouldn't have to worry as much about running out of pages in her sketchbook or using up her crayons. They could also work at a faster pace. But on the other hand, she was finally useful, albeit for a limited time. She liked that feeling. Still, if they got done sooner, that made it more likely they would find a way to reunite with their friends. She would rather remain useless than be separated from her friends forever. Yeah. She'd enjoy redrawing worlds while it lasted, but it would come to an end and she would accept that because she didn't mind putting down her sketchbook and crayons permanently if it meant she wasn't alone like she had been in that time before when there was no Roxas and Lea and Kairi and Goofy and Sora and Aqua; only the organization who saw her as a puppet. She was happy drawing, but even happier just sitting around sharing space with them.

Aqua watched as Namine finished her drawing and stood up to go to the next room. Aqua had been a bit uncomfortable with this girl at first. Her powers were disturbing to Aqua. But Aqua was beginning to see that Namine was just a girl. She was all things any girl is- strong and weak and fearless and scared. If Aqua needed to worry about her, it was about her welfare, not about what she might do.

When they exited the room, they found themselves back in the gray nothing. Only Namine saw anything different. To her eyes, they were in a curved hallway. As they walked forward she was already drawing, glancing up to take in the details as she scribbled away with her crayons, outlining the walls and the door up ahead and-

"Wait, Goofy," she called, but she was too late with her words and too fast with her crayons. The door she'd been drawing appeared right in time for Goofy to walk face-first into it. She cringed. Even if he'd only been walking, that looked like it hurt. And what would have happened if she'd finished a half second later? Did the door exist as solid reality before she finished drawing it? And if it didn't what would have happened if it had come into existence while Goofy occupied the space it was supposed to be? She'd have to be more careful.

When Namine looked at her drawing, she noticed something on the ceiling above them. Small and blue and orange, it was indistinct, but felt alive to her. She looked up and squeaked. What was that thing? Six legs? Antennae? Spines on its back? It had to be a heartless.

"Experiment 626," Aqua called out joyfully. The thing looked down at them. It hopped to the floor, landing in front of Aqua, where it held out a leg. "Ah-koo-wa?" it asked. Aqua reached into her pocket and pulled out her wayfinder.

"Do you remember this? You made one be-" The thing pulled out a wayfinder made of cobbled together scraps. "Oh, you still have yours," Aqua said.

"Fren circle," Experiment 626 responded. "For Terra, Ah-koo-wa, and Ven."

"Yup, only we have even more friends now. This is Namine, and Eraqus, and Goofy. And of course there's you, 626."

"Many fren!" 626 exclaimed, and clapped two legs together.

Namine smiled. Here was someone like her, who hadn't even seen the light inside themself without someone to show it to them. She would have to keep drawing this world, so she could help find this Experiment 626 some more friends.


	16. Meetings

"Dangit, Xehanort! Why'd you have to go calling yourself Ansem and making everything so gosh darn confusing!" Roxas shouted to the air. His fists were balled at his sides. Nearby, Kairi covered a giggle. Namine talked about this kind of behavior from Roxas. Kairi had never seen it herself before now. Not even from Sora. Even if Roxas had been born from Sora's heart, they were both unique, and here was proof, in case she hadn't already known. Which was good, because how awkward would it be if the guy she liked was two people?

Mickey was not so amused by Roxas's outburst. While he understood that Roxas was easily frustrated, he felt that the boy made deliberate attempts to be angsty in order to differentiate himself from Sora and Ventus. And right now, the angsty Roxas was slowing them down and delaying his reunion with Ansem the wise.

With a sigh, Roxas shook himself as if to get rid of his distaste for the results of Xehanort's renaming himself, and walked over to Mickey. Once he was certain the other two would follow, the king pushed onward at a demanding pace.

Up close, the castle was even more impressive. And once they got inside… Wow. Roxas was glad there didn't seem to be any bugs flying around, because he certainly would have swallowed several with all the gaping he was doing. The real Ansem lived in style.

They entered a study. Mickey entered first, followed by Kairi, with Roxas bringing up the rear since he was still staring at the hallway they'd been in. As soon as Roxas crossed the threshold, there was a flash of light, and suddenly a man with blond hair and dark orange eyes appeared. He stood by the desk with his hands clasped behind his back, and a warm smile on his face.

"Welcome old friend," the man greeted Mickey. "And welcome back princess," he said bowing to Kairi. Finally, he turned to Roxas. "And may I apologize again for what I have done to you, Roxas?"

"DiZ? Is that you?" Ansem nodded. "And when did you ever apologize to me?"

"I had to convey my regrets to Sora, since at the time you were inside his heart."

"I'm not Sora."

"Indeed you are not. Yet another of my miscalculations. And from the way he was at the time he and I met, I would venture a guess as to say you did not share any of your anger with him as I suggested."

"We have our own hearts. My feelings are my own, as his feelings belong to him. It's not like I reunited with him and we had a nice little chat saying 'I'll take a little bit of this and you can have some of that and we'll use these other feelings to bake a cake'."

"As I said, I miscalculated. I assumed that you were no more than a soulless husk, like nobodies are supposed to be. I did not consider your unique circumstances, nor did I realize that nobodies are capable of growing their own hearts. I am ever so sorry. Please forgive me, Roxas."

Roxas shrugged. He wasn't as forgiving as Sora. In some ways, he envied his original his trust, since Roxas himself was too cynical to believe in people so wholeheartedly as Sora did.

"May I suggest we go revive my apprentices and head to the computer room to make your restoration of this world easier?" Ansem said after a pause.

"Actually, there was a place I wanted to go, so how about I head off while you do that?" Kairi suggested.

"Perhaps Roxas should accompany you. It could be dangerous, and I sense he is not totally ready to accept me. Though he is more than welcome to come with us should he wish to do so."

"I also had a place I wanted to go," Roxas mumbled.

"Well then, do what your heart wishes to. However, please be cautious. Until we see the computer's results, we do not know what is out there."

Roxas's feet retraced their steps until he was back at the house that had first gotten his attention. It was a bit odd, with umbrellas on the roof, and a bright red door. He knocked, but no one answered. Not surprising, considering that everyone who lived in this world was just a heart for the moment. But he still felt guilty just entering without permission. Still, he was curious about this place. And if Sora had been here, then the people inside were probably his friends. Sora made friends with everyone. It was another thing Roxas envied, since he was always awkward and tongue-tied around new people. He needed to take his time and be around people to feel they were friends. That was what he looked forward to when they all reunited- just sitting around doing boring things with everyone. Going to school maybe, doing homework, just sitting around, whatever. He wanted them to be his friends, not just people he was on the same side as.

He pushed open the door, and like the study earlier, light flashed. Only in this case, the light was far brighter, and rather than flashing, it blasted him backwards across the lane. Rubbing his head, he pushed himself up, and found a girl kneeling over him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Aerith, how many times do we have to tell you not to go healing everyone until after you've determined they're nice?" Another girl skipped up. Behind them, Roxas could see a man and a woman standing in the doorway of the house, and another man's head peering out from behind them.

"Uh…" Roxas began.

A third man pushed past the other two. "Really, is that any way to treat out guest? C'mon, out of the way," he said, flapping his hands at the two girls hovering over Roxas. He helped the boy to his feet. "The name's Merlin. And this is Aerith and Yuffie and Leon and Tifa and Cid. And inside pretending to not be interested is Cloud." The two in the doorway both snorted with laughter.

"Hey Cloud, Merlin's got you down to a T," the woman in the doorway called.

"Uh, hi?" Roxas said.

"And Sora has told us all about you, Roxas."

"What did he say?" Roxas asked.

And so Roxas was led into the little house to make friends with everyone, and to hear about some of Sora's embarrassing moments and drink tea.

While Merlin was extracting promises from Roxas that Roxas would let the wizard oversee his magic training, Mickey and Ansem were following the newly awoken Even and Ienzo to Ansem's computer. They were guarded by Aeleus and Dilan in case any heartless appeared.

Meanwhile, Kairi was standing outside a small cottage, taking a deep breath. She opened the door, and was enveloped by light that turned into her grandmother's arms, hugging the beloved granddaughter who was finally home.


	17. Flight and Fight

They were halfway to the racetrack when Sora and Ventus also felt the sensation of being watched.

"Hey, L-Lea? You know how you said you didn't think we're alone?" Sora said in a voice about three octaves higher than normal. "H-how did you, I mean, what made you th-think that?"

"And here I was hoping it was just my imagination," Lea sighed.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm outta here," Ventus said, and summoned the glider form of his keyblade.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Sora protested.

"Yeah, at least superglide if you don't want to run, lookalike."

"Instead of complaining why don't you two get moving?" Ventus was shaking just a little. He had a very bad feeling right now. "And hand me Huey and Dewey, since it'll be faster if I take them." Lea and Sora handed them over.

For all Sora and Lea's complaints, they did a pretty good job keeping up. Sora managed to use flowmotion by bouncing off fences and cliff faces and such. Neither Sora nor Ventus had any idea how Lea did it, but he was there in the wake of the glider.

They were almost to the castle when they were surrounded by countless little lights.

"Hey, Ventus? Can that glider hold all of us?" Sora asked.

"Who cares if it can? It has to!" Lea yelled. He hopped onto one of the sides, with Sora on the other. Sora's keyblade was out. Lea opted to use his Chakrams instead of his keyblade. In dire situations, he still preferred his original weapon, and this was a dire situation. He was fortunate enough to have never been on this side of those lights, but he had seen the damage they could do. Sora had been on the receiving end before, and he would have been happy enough not repeating the experience. Last time he had fended them off with Riku. Lea wasn't Riku. But then again, Lea was pretty fast, so they should be okay right?

The endless volley of light darts began. Ventus urged the glider onward as Sora and Lea whirled around him, trying to block the attacks. He was having a hard time keeping them balanced, since they had no regard for the fact that they were on an airborne object that could tip over easily. They also kept jostling him.

The ducklings were safe enough as long as Ventus kept them on board, but more than one missed projectile came alarmingly close to Ventus, until he decided to put on his armor. He silently dared Lea or Sora to comment on this, but they were both too busy trying to keep them all from getting skewered. Just as well.

Finally, the barrage ended. No, it hadn't ended, they'd just entered the palace walls, and were close enough to the cornerstone of light that the attacks couldn't reach them.

"What was that?" Ventus asked. His knees were dangerously close to giving out on him.

"Xemnas," Lea and Sora said in unison.

"I thought Master Yen Sid destroyed the darknesses when he destroyed the worlds."

"Apparently not," Lea said bitterly. But inwardly, he was secretly just a little glad. Xemnas was someone he wanted to help kill. The man had turned him into a nobody and then had set him against his best friends. The darkness in his heart called for revenge. He had ignored it, since he was fighting for the light, but when the man himself appeared in front of them as a threat, well that was a different story now, wasn't it?

"We've gotta stop him," Sora said. "Ventus, Axel, we're going to need to cooperate for this one."

"It's Lea, danggit. And here I thought you'd gotten it memorized."

"See, you once told me 'the name's Axel. Got it memorized?' so I memorized that."

"Sora!"

"He's not wrong," Ventus murmured. Lea shot him a dirty look, and he smiled and shrugged.

"Since then, I've told you dozens of time that it's Lea and you should get THAT memorized. So hurry up and remember that!"

"Alright. But can I at least wait to memorize it until after we've taken care of Xemnas?"

"Fine. Speaking of Xemnas, where'd he go?"

"Considering I never even saw him in the first place," Ventus said, then shrugged rather than finish his sentence.

"Oh. Right."

The three deposited the ducklings in a corner where they would probably- maybe- be safe and then cautiously ventured out to face their enemy. They didn't have to look for long. Xemnas was waiting patiently with his double-ended laser sword. He was even stroking it lovingly. Lea and Sora exchanged a look. Sora stuck his tongue out for extra measure.

"Nice to see you Axel, Roxas, and keyblade bearer."

Lea smiled sweetly and summoned his keyblade as a response. He then released it and waved one finger of each hand in the air. The middle ones.

"Like you don't have a keyblade of your own," Sora spat back.

"Like my pupil there, I prefer to use other weaponry."

"Lea, by 'his pupil', does he mean you?" Ventus asked.

"Long story, lookalike. I used to be in the organization, and he was its leader."

"And you trained with him?"

"No. He's just saying that."

Vines of darkness were snaking towards them. The three used reversals to swoosh around the vines, trying to reach Xemnas, who used the same reversal technique to swoosh around the vines and evade them.

"Cover me!" Lea yelled from the ground, having given up on the game of tag they were playing. Sora and Ventus dropped from the air and landed at his sides and sliced any incoming vines as Lea held his Chakrams out at arm's length on both sides, spinning them and gathering flames.

"Duck!"

Sora and Ventus hit the ground as Lea unleashed a flurry of flames that burned away the vines. Xemnas avoided the fire, and instead charged them with his laser sword, letting out a shrill whistle as he approached. Sora looked up to see a slew of dusks approaching. Dusks weren't much of a threat, but there were so many.

"I'll take care of the dusks," Sora called, and charged into them, firing off spells and praying that he hadn't just made a mistake that would keep him from seeing his friends again.

Inside the castle, hearts belonging to Queen Minnie, Daisy, Chip, Dale, and Pluto blazed, and their owners reappeared, called back into existence by Sora's heart remembering its friends.


	18. Quiet, Too Quiet

"Traverse Town," Riku said as if someone had asked him where he would be getting off a bus. Terra was going to have to take his word for it, since he had never seen this place before. The main things that caught his attention were the brick-paved roads and lamp posts everywhere. He couldn't tell is the dark sky above was an indicator of night time, or if maybe they had messed up and even though the world had expanded to normal size it was still surrounded by darkness that could take over at any moment.

"Maybe Sora's here," Donald remarked.

"Yeah, this is where people from worlds that were swallowed end up, right? So maybe we can find Sora and Kairi and the king." Riku looked over at Terra, then added as an afterthought "and Aqua and Ventus too, I suppose."

To Riku, Terra was a very important existence. Riku could never forgive himself for being manipulated by the heartless "Ansem", nor could he forgive the fact that he had relied on the powers of darkness to help bring Sora back, and had lost himself in the process. Terra was the only one who understood having done the unforgivable, since he had played right into Xehanort's traps and had almost destroyed his own master. For the both of them, having someone else who had been in the same shoes meant a lot to them, because being forgiven by a similar existence meant that it was okay to forgive themselves. Forgiveness from those like Sora who couldn't possibly see the bad helped, but knowing they were not alone in that boat was a far stronger medicine for their hurt consciences. As such, the two of them cared a lot about each other, which meant also caring about the things that were important to the other. So while Riku was far more concerned about his friends, he would put forth an almost equal effort into helping Terra find the people he loved as well.

"I don't think it'd work like that this time. The worlds ended- they weren't swallowed. When a world is swallowed its heart would return to Kingdom Hearts, but if the hearts of the worlds went there, we'd just need to open the door to restore things, wouldn't we?"

Riku sighed. Terra was right. Things would be a lot simpler if only the worlds had been simply swallowed.

"Well, we should still try and help everyone out. I just hope we don't find those people who were here when this place was sleeping. If they're still here, it would mean they never made it back, wouldn't it?"

"What people?" Donald asked. Terra was curious, but he would never have asked, since he preferred to let Riku say things in his own time. Sometimes he forgot they hadn't shared all their adventures. But maybe that was for the best. He'd done things he wasn't proud of, and he was sure the others had similar things they'd rather not share.

"Oh, just some friends," Riku said. And that was all he would say for now. Mostly because it irritated Donald, which was rather fun.

They split up to search the world, but when they gathered back in the area Riku called the first district, none of them had found a single person.

"Creepy," Terra said with a shudder. He'd never been to a ghost town before, and he didn't think he'd be doing any more of it in the future.

"Well, Traverse Town is a place where people end up when they're lost," Riku said.

"I don't care. Let's just get out of here."


	19. Synthetic Concepts

Namine was exhausted. She had drawn so much. Through it all, Experiment 626 had stayed by her side, watching her work. 626 was full of curiosity. At one point he had indicated that he wanted to draw too, and had been saddened when his drawings did not have the same effect as Namine's.

The only time 626 left her side was when she had drawn a giant being called Gantu, who had tried to shoot 626 and then had a lengthy argument with Aqua and another alien form that Aqua addressed as "Grand Councilwoman." 626 had not helped by climbing Gantu and licking him then crawling down his shirt. It was clear that the two would unlikely to ever become friends.

At some point, Namine felt something different as she drew, and knew that once she completed this one the world would be able to fix itself. As soon as she finished it, she felt a backlash from using her power so much. Goofy had to catch her as she fell, and she had to be carried to a sleeping chamber. Oddly enough, she could have sworn it was 626 who caught and carried her, but that was impossible since the creature was tiny.

When she awoke, Aqua was waiting.

"Master Eraqus says we shouldn't linger too long. Since we've done what we came to do, we probably should move on to the next world if you're not too tired."

"I'm not, but what about 626?"

"We can always come back. It's just that Master Eraqus thinks this world can't be fully stable until all the worlds, and the balance, are back. We can't stop halfway, or else the worlds may end up permanently destroyed. So we'll be better friends if we leave him now than if we stay for his sake."

It made sense that a single world couldn't survive on its own. After all, the worlds had once been connected, and if they had been connected then in a way they had all been one. So even a single world that was restored was still incomplete. Like how Sora's heart had been incomplete when she'd severed its connections.

"Alright. I guess I'm ready."

"It's easier when we don't have to say goodbye, isn't it?" Aqua had travelled more than Namine had, and as such she had made many friends only to leave them. She might never see some of those friends again.

"It hurts though. Goodbye gives you closure." At least, that was how Namine felt.

"Perhaps. Let's go find Goofy."

"What about Master Eraqus?"

"The master said he had some other business to attend to. But he said we'd meet later on." Aqua began walking, and Namine had to scramble to follow.

"How does he know?"

"He's the master."

"You're a master too."

"I passed my mastery and since then all I've done is hide the Land of Departure and get stuck in the darkness. That's not very master-like."

"Terra and Ventus call you master."

"They're my friends. They do that mostly to tease me. I think."

"Hi guys!" Goofy called, waving animatedly.

"Ready to go?" Aqua asked.

"Ah-yupper."

The three clung to each other, and Aqua brought them out of the world. Back in the gray, the world seemed rather small, like a Dollhouse of a world.

"Let's go find another world heart," Aqua said. She pulled out her wayfinder, and they headed off. Namine looked back at world they'd left, and was glad they would at least have some kind of landmark from now on.

She was less glad of that landmark when they'd taken countless steps and the world seemed no farther than when they'd first left it.

"Aqua, are we-" Namine began.

"Shh."

"But I don't think we're moving."

"Perhaps distance doesn't exist here. After all, if everything was destroyed, then that includes all of man's creations, including abstract concepts such as time and space. Those things are only in our heads."

"So we are moving, we're just in the midst of distortion?"

"I think that's a pretty good name for this. The distortion."

"But aren't names another man-made thing? This place can survive without a name," Namine said with a smile. Aqua smiled back, and Goofy chortled.

"Well we may not be men, but that's the way we were taught to think. And it's not so easy to change the way you think. So maybe if the distance thing bothers you, try closing your eyes. That way you can't see the distortion and be confused by it."

"Uh, actually, I think that there is another one of them world hearts," Goofy said, pointing ahead.

Sure enough, a small glow was waiting for them. As before, Goofy served as an anchor while Aqua and Namine dove into the world. This time there was no tunnel or any kind of journey in. They were simply there. As the world resolved itself, they both gasped. The world they were in was one that was familiar to both of them, and one that should not be in the state it was in.

They were in the Land of Departure- or rather, in its locked form. Aqua realized she could not sense the connection back to Goofy.

They were trapped inside Castle Oblivion.


	20. Roxas Overwhelmed

Roxas was feeling very much overwhelmed. How was he supposed to get to know all these people? He accepted another cup of tea from Merlin, even though he hadn't finished the last six. Though in his defense the first cup had been completely ruined when he'd failed to pay attention to the sugar bowl which had kept adding spoonful after spoonful until there was more sugar than tea and the cup was hopelessly ruined. He remembered to keep a close watch on it after that, no matter how distracting everyone talking at him all at once was.

The two younger men, Cloud and Leon, were the only ones who seemed to know how to shut their mouths for more than five seconds, and even they had plenty to say to him. That Leon guy wanted to know about Roxas's dual wielding, which, where had he even heard about that, and then Cloud wanted him to discuss the advantages of dual wielding, and was he stronger in a fight than Sora, and then there was Tifa trying to challenge him to a fight for the eleventh time and Yuffie saying what a dope Sora was and Roxas was kinda dopey too and Aerith telling Yuffie that anyone would be a little fazed by being bombarded with so many stories and questions and Cid was talking about some of the repairs he'd had to do on the gummi ship on the occasions when Sora crashed it and-

"Will you please talk one at a time!" Roxas exclaimed. There was dead silence, and he sank lower in his chair as his face turned redder than the tattered cape hanging by the door.

"Err, sorry," he mumbled to his tea.

Everyone laughed. Roxas wished he was still able to summon portals of darkness. He would be long gone by now if he could because this was positively mortifying.

"Sorry, Roxas. It's just that we've been so excited to meet you. Sora calls us a lot, and he always has something to say about you. And we're not laughing at you either. We're laughing because you are just like how Sora said," Aerith explained

Okay, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that he couldn't escape right now.

"Why would you be excited to meet me?"

"Well for one, you're not a total knucklehead like Sora," Yuffie said.

"Because I heard you're really strong," Tifa said at the same time, grinding her fist into her other hand. Cloud reached over and brushed her arm, and she lowered her hands with a sigh.

"Because if our hearts are connected to Sora's and yours is too, then that means your heart is connected to ours," Leon said.

"That's so sentimental, Squall," Yuffie taunted.

"Who says I was all excited to meet anyone?" Cid asked.

"Now Cid, stop pretending to be mean and admit that you were interested in the young man," Merlin scolded.

Cloud met Roxas's eyes and the flipped his hair.

"I'm indifferent. I just wondered if you were as much of an idiot as that guy, since he really likes you so much." His pose of leaning against the wall with his arms crossed was ruined by Tifa hooking an arm around his neck and pulling him into a choke hold.

"Look, it's not like we really need a reason, is it?" she asked.

"No, I guess not."

Before they could carry on, there was a knock at the door. The visitor did not wait for an answer however, and just barged in. It was Kairi. Everyone in the house greeted her warmly, as if she was an old friend of theirs. Then again, if this was her home world and if these people were friends of Sora's then they probably were old friends.

"Roxas, c'mon, we've got work to do."

"Did you already finish what you were doing?"

"Sorta. My grandmother and I can finish catching up later. I just wanted to see if she was alright. I haven't seen her since I ended up in Destiny Islands, you know."

"Um, speaking as someone who doesn't have a family and doesn't really understand that stuff, shouldn't that be your priority rather than working? I'll take care of finding everyone's hearts. You spend time with your grandmother."

"Well you should probably head back to the castle and meet up with Mickey then. He said they were going to use the computer to find the best places to go. Like if there's any hearts that are in danger of vanishing if they don't get help and what not."

Roxas nodded acknowledgement. The two said their goodbyes to the house, and headed off- Kairi to return to her grandmother's cottage and Roxas to return to the castle.

Mickey was awaiting him outside the castle.

"We saw you coming on the computer," he told Roxas. He led the way to the lab room where Ansem's computer was. In the room, a man with long greasy blond hair was typing away, while a kid only a couple years older than Sora sulkily pressed buttons elsewhere. Roxas recognized them as the originals of Vexen and Zexion. Ansem was flitting back and forth between the two, making suggestions.

"So uh, where should I, or, uh, we go next?" Roxas asked nervously, changing pronouns since he realized Mickey would probably be helping him.

"Well, from our findings so far-" Ienzo began, only to be interrupted by Even.

"Anywhere really," he said. "The hearts remain where people would be if they were going about their day-to-day business, so they won't be anywhere odd or anything. Perhaps the market square, since there are plenty of people there."

"But do we need to worry about any of the hearts going out?" Roxas pressed.

"That shouldn't-" Zexion started, but again he was interrupted.

"What a ridiculous idea. Of course not." Even sniffed derisively, as if Roxas were supremely unintelligent. Roxas didn't know why he was surprised that Even/Vexen wasn't all that different when he had a heart.

"Well some hearts are stronger than others."

"Hmmph," Even said. Ienzo watched him for a moment, as if making sure he truly had nothing more to say.

"Some hearts do indeed have more resilience than others, which might cause one to postulate a theory that less strenuous hearts might fade out of existence more easily, but since in actuality a heart's strength merely has to do with its resistance to light or dark, then in the absence of light or dark then the heart will be completely unaffected by its surroundings and therefore there would be no chance of them fading out of existence so while your hypothesis is not completely baseless, it can be rejected as false so you need not worry," Ienzo said at high-speed and in one breath. He looked around at the others, pleased with himself, but aside from Roxas, everyone was absorbed in their work or otherwise not paying attention to him. And Roxas was only looking at him because Roxas was staring outright at him. With a sigh, Ienzo turned back to his work, looking even gloomier than before.

"So then, even if we've started bringing this place back, it's still not got any light or dark to it?" Roxas asked Ienzo, feeling bad for him.

"Exactly!" Ienzo perked right back up. "Right now this world is a bit like a nobody- it has its heart, yes, but it still does not have the people that are a part of it, and the residents of a world are much like the concept of a soul. So while the world has a heart, it has no soul. Perhaps rather than a nobody that makes it more like a heartless I suppose. But anyways, the light and the darkness can hold no sway on the world as it is now. What surprises me is that this world can withstand the presence of a princess of heart, since surely her pure light would overwhelm the world in its current state. Perhaps it is because this is the world the princess originated in. Ah, but I digress. My apologies."

"O-kaaaaaay, um, well, if there's no darknesses we need to know about, I guess Mickey and I should get to work," Roxas said brightly. He pushed the king out the door ahead of him, feeling very ashamed of himself as Ienzo called after him to wish him good luck with the restoration. He felt very small using an excuse to run away and being treated with kindness for it.


	21. Heroes

Sora skidded along the ground, reeling from the shock of having been walloped by a dusk. He heard Ventus call his name. _Dang it Ventus!_ he thought. _You can't afford to be distracted when fighting Xemnas. Concentrate on your own battle!_ Apparently Ventus wasn't concentrating on his own battle though, since he went bouncing past Sora, having been knocked away from the battle. Lea was holding his own, but he was purely on the defensive and would tire sooner or later.

Ventus landed on a heart. He didn't notice until a voice yelled at him "Hey, whoos says you can just come in here and be messing up my town. I oughta give you the old what-for!"

"Captain Justice?" Ventus gasped half out of surprise and half because he was winded.

"Oh no, not Pete!" Sora moaned.

"Hey aren't you that kid who always follows that dragon witch who's all about world domination around?" Lea asked, rolling to his feet after taking a flying leap to avoid an attack.

"Outta my way!" Pete yelled and went barreling into the mob of dusks, throwing them all over the place."

The three wielders exchanged a look that decided among themselves to just let Pete have at it. He could handle the dusks. Hopefully.

The biggest problem was that Xemnas could generate some pretty good shields. If Sora and Ventus were blocking both ends of his laser sword and leaving space for Lea to attack, suddenly there was a wall of magic in the way that Xemnas could attack through but they couldn't even dent. And if they spread out to try and attack from all different sides, Xemnas would somehow maneuver so that they were all in front of him. Lea was the one who managed to get the most attacks landed, but Xemnas didn't seem to mind that his back was a little singed.

Sora and Ven were throwing every limit and spell they could think of at Xemnas. Ventus had a little luck with his Wingblade style of fighting, and Sora could help with a well-timed Ars Arcanum, but Xemnas recovered well, making it hard to keep his defense down long enough to make it worth the sheer amount of magic they were burning through. If only Sora could have used a drive form! But those required help from friends, and he couldn't afford to take Lea or Ventus out of the battle just to power himself up.

And then Sora found himself facing a familiar scene, albeit from a different angle. Ventus was trapped in a bubble that was sapping his life away, and Xemnas had generated clones to keep Sora and Lea from coming and breaking him free. He'd done that to Sora when Sora and Riku had battled Xemnas, but Sora wasn't having it this time. Neither was Ventus. They were also stronger than he had been. Instead of struggling inside like Sora had when it had been him in that bubble, Ventus thought of darkness. He thought of Vanitas. And the keyblade in his hand turned into the chi blade. As he sliced out of the bubble, Sora used sonic rave to blast through the Xemnas clone and approach. Lea enclosed them all in walls of flames, burned the other clone to a crisp, and used the flame wall to teleport over to the others. As one, Lea threw a flaming Chakram, Ventus lunged forward, the chi blade slicing through Xemnas's shield as if it didn't exist, and Sora used Ragnarok.

Xemnas didn't have a chance. His empty eyes stared with disbelief as he faded to nothing and his heart left the worlds.

Ventus groaned and doubled over. To the surprise of all of them, a figure fell forward out of Ventus as the chi blade dissolved.

"Owwwww how come losing one of them still hurts if I'm no longer a darkness?" Vanitas whined from where he was curled in a fetal position on the ground.

"Well that's interesting," Lea commented, holding both Ventus and a very stunned Sora up.

"He looks like me. Why does he look like me?" Sora asked the air.

"I think it was because our hearts connected," Ventus explained. "Since he was originally part of me."

"Oooowwwwwwwwww it hurts." Vanitas kicked his feet like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Alright guys, let's go check on the castle," Lea suggested, and headed off.

"Hey, you're just going to abandon me?" Vanitas yelled after them. "And what about all these dusks, don't you think you should do something about them?"

Lea sighed. The three of them rushed into the fracas, and made short work of the nobodies. They then turned back to Disney Castle, and walked back inside, all while ignoring Vanitas. With a sigh Vanitas left the world to go rendezvous with Eraqus. He was going to be late as it was, and he had promised Isa that he could talk things over with that particular group. He'd give Isa a little more time before taking matters into his own hands. Besides, he'd had enough of the whole "ack a darkness!" mistrust thing.

"Former darkness. Former!" he spat aloud as he wandered through the gray to meet the master.

He got out of there just in time. In the castle, Sora, Ventus, and Lea discovered that bringing back the people of the world had completed it and that they could leave. So as soon as they promised Minnie and Daisy they would bring back Mickey and Donald, they were off.

As they re-entered the grayness, Lea voiced what they were all thinking.

"Man, being a hero kinda bites."


	22. Vanitas Again

Outside Traverse Town, there was no trace of the darkness they'd used to bring the world back to its ghostly existence. While Terra was glad, he found the disappearance of the darkness just as eerie as the emptiness of Traverse Town.

"Man that place was creepy," he said.

"Yeah. It was pretty empty the last time I was there, but it wasn't completely abandoned," Riku agreed.

"Ghost towns give me the heebiedabajeebies," Donald quacked. Terra didn't even try to figure out what that was supposed to mean.

"Well, let's move on," he told them.

"Um," Riku pointed at two rapidly approaching people, the sight of which Terra found confusing. One was Vanitas again. The other was Master Eraqus. What were they doing together? Sure, Vanitas claimed to be on their side, but he'd probably claim anything to further his goals. He would have thought the master was smarter than that, and not someone to fall into a trap after being too trusting.

"Master, what's going on?" Terra asked.

"Ah, I see you have found and restored Traverse Town. Good, good." Eraqus said ignoring Terra's question.

"Ghost Town is more like it," Riku said. "Though from what Sora says, I think Halloween Town would resent them for such a name. Not that there's anyone there to resent."

"Well of course there's no one there. The hearts of people returned to the world they belong in, whether it be the world of their origin or the world they love most. Traverse Town is supposed to be a transient place and no one's home."

"Oh, so like 'home is where the heart is.' I always hated that kind of sappy stuff," Riku drawled.

"I knew I liked you," Vanitas said, and Riku glared hostilely at him.

"Vanitas, please refrain from taunting people," Eraqus ordered.

"Not even Xehanort? The other darknesses? Can't I taunt them?"

"As much as it pains me to say so, it is inadvisable that you do so."

"Inadvisable doesn't mean forbidden. Great! Now how best to torment the old man?" Vanitas grinned mischievously and rubbed his hands together. He looked like some sort of oversized demented pixie.

"Mass-ster," Terra said impatiently.

"Hmm? Oh yes. What am I doing here."

"Actually, I think he asked what's going on, meaning why are you with that," Riku said drily.

"I'd actually like to know the answers to both, if you please."

"Very well. The answers run along the same lines anyways. I am keeping an eye on darkness. I have been searching for the remaining darknesses, among other things, but I came here specifically to check on you. Don't think I was unaware of your methods in bringing this world back. But it seems the darkness you used was dissipated once you ceased to control it, and so it will harm no one, including you. Also your use of darkness does not seem to have affected either of you. You do me proud, Terra."

Terra blushed, and Riku and Vanitas simultaneously coughed rather suspiciously. But they definitely weren't laughing at him. Nope.

"And what does that have to do with… Vanitas?" Terra did not want to say that name. It was so unpleasant to him. After all, if it weren't for Vanitas, Ven would have stayed safe through everything. He wouldn't have left the Land of Departure, and he wouldn't have been almost killed by Eraqus to prevent the forging of the chi blade, and he wouldn't have ended up as some husk locked away in a secret room for so long.

"He too is using darkness enough that I wish to keep an eye on him for fluctuations in his heart."

"Plus between the two of us we've seen all your pals, and if you act real nice and say 'pretty please' we might even tell you about them."

Three different voices overlapped, asking about their friends.

"You've seen-" led to "Sora?" It led to "Ventus?" and "Goofy?" and "Aqua?" and "Kairi?" and "the King?" Riku even remembered to ask about Lea (who had helped save Sora and so he felt indebted to him) and Namine (who had also helped save Sora a different time) and Roxas (who he had kinda ruined the life of and he still felt guilty about that because it was kinda wrong even if it had been for Sora).

"I saw Aqua and Namine and Goofy," Eraqus told them. "They were all well. Namine is drawing worlds back into life. They had just finished up Deep Space when I left."

"I actually haven't seen copycat and princess and mouse since the last time I saw you lot," Vanitas said. It took a moment to decipher who he meant, and also what he meant.

"You mean you'd seen them before last time and you didn't tell us!" all three of them yelled.

"Uh, yeah? You weren't being very friendly. Why should I?"

"Vanitas, please." Eraqus sounded like he'd been dealing with Vanitas's antics for longer than he cared to.

"Fine. Sorry. As for the other three, origin and my physique's origin and the pyro, they were dealing with some dusks in Disneytown."

"Dusks?" Riku asked, his voice rising in pitch.

"Yup. Also they ran into our pal Xemnas."

Riku sat down hard. His face was ashen, and looked like death. Sora. Fighting Xemnas. They'd fought Xemnas before. Together. And barely won. His old injury from that battle throbbed.

Sora couldn't fight Xemnas without him. He'd never survive.

"What Vanitas isn't telling you is that he joined Ventus and Sora and Lea as they were fighting Xemnas, and was present for Xemnas's final defeat. They were all unharmed, and had no trouble with the leftover dusks."

Riku's breath left him in a whoosh of relief, and lay back. He felt better, but he still didn't think he could stand.

"I'm glad they're all alright," Terra said.

"Let me remind you that other darknesses are still out there. They could encounter them," Eraqus cautioned. "As could you."

Vanitas decided to show his good intentions by helping Riku to his feet. Of course, being Vanitas this meant he bodily picked Riku up and slung him over his shoulder.

"The fact that you look like a twisted version of my best friend in my old armor is just messed up. Put me down," Riku ordered.

Vanitas complied with a flourished bow. Eraqus pulled him back.

"We should be going," he said with a hint of warning in his voice meant for Vanitas.

"But-" Terra protested.

"Oh, I do believe that is your next world over there," Eraqus said. Terra turned to look, and then muttered an oath as he realized he'd just fallen for classic misdirection. Sure enough, Vanitas and Eraqus were gone. Though there really had been a world there.

"Same drill?" Riku asked him, glaring resentfully at the space where Eraqus and Vanitas had been.

"Same drill."


	23. Inside Castle Oblivion :o

Neither Namine or Aqua panicked. So they were trapped in Castle Oblivion. No biggie. They both had some power over this place. Aqua could get through without being confused, and Namine would be fine if they stayed together.

"I wonder what floor we're on," Aqua mused, drifting forward and taking a look around. Namine grabbed her hand before she got too far away, and Aqua looked back in confusion before realization dawned in her eyes.

"Sorry. I forgot that this place addles people."

"It's okay. We'll be fine."

But even if they were calm and not panicking, both woman and girl felt uneasy. There was a very bad feeling in the air, like they had entered a tomb and restless spirits would appear to curse them at any moment. They both took comfort in the feel of the other's hand.

Outside, in the gray, Goofy had felt the loss of their connection. He looked around, but saw no one. He ought to go look for help, but what if something happened in the heart of the world or to the bodies they had left behind out here? He had to stay here, in case Aqua and Namine needed him.

"Somebody help!" he yelled. "They can't wake up. Save them!"

No one answered.

Inside the heart, Aqua and Namine found familiar landmarks. They were not too far from the secret core, which was where they'd need to go to set this world to rights. From there, they could reestablish their connection to Goofy, and once they returned Namine could begin drawing things.

"It's just past here," Aqua said. Namine felt a breeze ruffle her hair as they passed through a doorway. That was odd. But then again, did normalcy even exist in Castle Oblivion?

Aqua opened on last door, and they entered a room with a dais and a single chair. That must have been where Ventus slept for all those years.

They approached the dais with the intention of having Aqua unlock the castle. They were almost there when the door shut. Namine whirled. Beside her Aqua glanced back and gasped.

For there, behind them, was an old man. He was bald, though he sported a gray beard. He had yellow eyes that glowed like embers of evil, and pointed ears.

"Master Xehanort," Aqua said tightly.

"I must say, I'm very grateful to you for leading me in here. I would never have found it on my own, no matter how close my other self's subordinates came to this area." Namine's hand flew to her hair, realizing that rather than a breeze, it had been the old man's unseen hand. She shuddered and took a step back.

"Namine, I need you to draw a barrier around that dais and then return to your body," Aqua commanded. Namine complied. Her sketchbook was already in her hands, a crayon at the ready. And on the paper, there were the walls, and the chair, and the dais, and-

Aqua charged Xehanort, intent on keeping him from getting anywhere near Namine or the dais. The old man smiled, as if he had a secret. He hadn't reached the dais without her noticing, had he?

But no, there was his keyblade in his hand, and he pushed her aside as if she were nothing.

"Namine!"

But Namine was drawing the barrier that would keep this man from obtaining the secrets of this world. There were symbols she didn't consciously know forming on the paper, and around the dais invisible walls that would be impenetrable were rising, and there! It was finished, and Namine was being snatched out of the way by Aqua, and then Aqua cast a powerful spell- Namine wasn't sure which- and Xehanort was blasted from the room. Aqua rushed to close the door, and then they were returning to outside.

"Goofy, prepare for battle," Aqua shouted as they burst back into wakefulness in the distortion. They didn't need to tell him twice, as the air around them was crackling.

The old man appeared, his back to them. He turned around, looking as if he had caught some children planning a prank on him- slightly amused but still ready to dole out punishment. Namine swallowed. She couldn't help her companions here, and this was not an opponent who would be easily beaten.

Goofy's shield hurtled towards Xehanort, and as Xehanort calmly parried it with his keyblade, Aqua teleported behind their foe ready to slash at him. But Xehanort had vanished into a puddle of darkness. Aqua cartwheeled away as a giant arm of darkness reached up into the spot where she had been. Xehanort followed after the arm, and immediately launched a salvo of projectiles of sheer darkness, some of which went towards Aqua, some towards Goofy, and some towards Namine. Goofy threw himself in front of Namine to defend the girl. Luckily, neither of them was hit, but Namine knew that she would only be a burden like this. If Kairi could fight, she could too.

It was there in her mind. A keyblade. But not one she had seen before. Hers. When Kairi had tried to give Namine her keyblade, Namine had insisted that she was no wielder, and nothing had happened. But now the keyblade demanded that Namine stop hesitating and help her friends. Or at least, summon it so she could defend herself even if she couldn't fight.

The keyblade's shaft was studded with mirrors, and at the end there were several pencil-like points. It was not a melee weapon and instead specialized in defensive techniques, though how she knew she couldn't say. It suited her, she thought as she summoned it.

"Goofy, help Aqua," Namine insisted as she watched their companion frantically dodging Xehanort's chaos blade attack. Aqua could hold her own, but it was unclear who would win like this. Goofy went whirling into the battle, knocking against a surprised Xehanort. Aqua took the opportunity to cure a few wounds she'd acquired and use thunder surge to re-enter the battle.

Namine cast spells to shield her friends. It was strange to notice that she considered them friends. When had they become so important to her? Or hadn't they always been, and she just wasn't aware of it? Whatever the case, she would help them build up their protections. Xehanort would not be injuring them, not on Namine's watch.

But just because they wouldn't get hurt didn't mean that Xehanort would. And he was doing just fine despite being under attack.


	24. Moving On

Sure enough, the market square was full of hearts. Each time they approached one, it did that flashy thing the other had and became a person. Roxas made a shop selling sunglasses one of his first stops to counteract the spots he was getting in his eyes since he'd like to still be able to see in about ten years.

The king was bouncing around from heart to heart, and with each revival people became more active. The first few people blinked slowly, as if being woken from a long sleep, but then people began moving about and having conversations. It was like having more people around them had the same effect as drinking coffee.

Seeing as how the king had things in hand, Roxas decided to do a little shopping. He did feel a little guilty for slacking off, but he just knew Namine would love those keychains over there, and Kairi would probably like one too. And there was an ice cream shaped one for Lea, and he could also look for stuff for Sora and Ventus too…

Mickey watched Roxas browse inside a shop with a smile. Roxas was slowly opening up his heart. It was a good thing to see, since while Roxas had managed to build a heart of his own, his heart was still raw and incomplete since he kept it isolated. He was slowly learning to let people in though. It was quite an amazing thing to see. Ansem had thought so too.

At this point, there wasn't any real need for them to be restoring hearts. The already revived people's hearts would awaken the others with their memories, and so there wasn't really any need to stay. But Mickey would have lingered a bit, to let Kairi spend time with her grandmother and let Roxas finish his shopping.

Kairi had other plans however. She felt a sense of urgency pushing her onward. And as much as she loved her grandmother, she wanted to know her friends were all safe too. She wanted to see them with her own eyes. She found Mickey just as Roxas was exiting the store with his purchases safely tucked away.

"Guys, there are other worlds you know," she told them impatiently.

"But don't we need to finish up here?" Roxas asked guiltily.

Kairi shook her head. "We've done what we needed to. Time to move on."

And so Roxas let himself be dragged out of the world. Back in the grayness, he felt his spirits instantly sink. Restoring all the worlds seemed like a much greater task out here. And now that they were here there would be more endless walking to find the next world, and nothing to see but that obnoxious gray and the world they'd just left, and this sucked.

Without a word they set off, walking until their feet hurt and their legs were half numb. It was so monotonous, just lifting the next foot and taking the next step that they almost walked right past the heart.

Things went much quicker this time. They had dealt so much with light since they had found Radiant Garden that it came to them much more easily this time, and soon they found themselves standing in the new world.

"Um, what is all this?" Roxas asked, examining his new clothes. He was wearing a fancy shirt and pants and some ridiculous cape with a collar that half covered his face. He even had a top hat for crying out loud. Kairi was looking over her shoulder at the extra limbs sprouted from her back, and Mickey was shrouded completely by a tattered black hood. His paws were now quite skeletal looking. Around them, the world was dimly lit, and there were jack-o-lantern street lights.

"Boy, I think we've ended up in Halloween Town," Mickey said.

"Halloween Town, huh? Who wants to go trick-or-treating?" Kairi asked.


	25. Shenanigans

"Are we there yet are we there yet are we there yet?" Sora and Ventus exchanged a long-suffering look. Lea had only asked if they were there yet 358 times. It hadn't been amusing even the first time.

"Guys, I'm bored," Lea whined.

"We might have noticed," Sora snapped.

"Why is this so tiring?"

"Why are you so tiring," Ventus muttered. Sora snorted as he tried not to laugh.

"Careful, I might challenge you to a duel. This isn't like that time when we first met. I'll definitely win this time. It won't be a tie." Lea dangled a Chakram from a finger.

"As I recall, Isa proclaimed me winner."

"He had his eyes shut."

"He did not."

"You bribed him."

"When? I'd never seen him before you approached me."

"Well, as I said, this time will be different."

"We'll see about that." Ventus folded his arms behind his head. What he hadn't noticed is that Sora had already assumed that exact posture while listening to them. Lea was about to say something when a world heart drifted down right in front of them.

"All right! We're there!" Lea exclaimed. The three of them hovered over it eagerly.

"Now Sora, don't-" Ventus began.

"Cowabunga!" Sora yelled, dragging Ventus and Lea with him as he dove head first into the world again.

The three of them landed in a heap.

"So, I vote we tie him up and leave him somewhere," Lea said.

"We can't do that. It'd be wrong." Ventus pulled himself from off the other two. "Though it certainly is tempting."

"I can hear you," Sora said from the bottom of the pile.

"Funny, because you never hear us when we're trying to tell you when you're about to be a supreme moron," Lea retorted. He too picked himself up, and left it to Ventus to help Sora up.

"What do you mean? All we have to do is come into the world hearts we find, bring back the people inside, and the world will restore itself. Simple."

"Except our bodies are completely vulnerable out there, and we have no way to get back to the outside until we've restored the world!"

"Oh. Right."

Muttering, Lea led the way forward, before he recognized where they were.

"Hey, this is Twilight Town. Sora, Lookalike, we're in Twilight Town!" Lea very nearly kissed the ground, but even with his flair for dramatics, that was a bit much.

"You know what this means, right?" Sora asked with a grin.

"That I am now much happier than I was a minute ago?"

"No, silly. Your surprise!"

"My what?"

"That's right," Ventus said, catching on. "You promised a surprise if we ended up in Twilight Town. This is the right place, isn't it?"

"I thought you two said I shouldn't." Lea folded his arms. Actually, he was a little bit touched that they had remembered. Roxas would have noticed, but luckily these two were a bit too dim to clue in to his emotions.

"Well if you've changed your mind-" Ventus started to say.

"No way! You said you were gonna so you have to!" Sora insisted, talking over Ventus completely.

"Alright fine. Follow me." Lea had expected just such a reaction from Sora. The kid was so easy to read.

They had entered Twilight Town on Sunset Hill, and so Lea led the way down. He thought about taking the train, but of course it wouldn't be running given the current state of the world, so they took the tunnels instead. They checked the hearts they came across along the way, but all of them belonged to strangers and so they were unable to restore them.

They hiked upwards through the tunnels, and exited at entrance number 5, the Central Station Plaza. There, Lea led them into the station itself, and over to an ice cream cooler. He took out three sticks and left behind munny to pay for them, which surprised Sora because he would never have thought of Lea as being so scrupulous. Next, they climbed a staircase and found themselves at the top of the station clock tower. Up here, they could see for miles. It was amazing.

"Hey, this is that salty ice cream, isn't it?" Ventus asked. Sora looked at the ice cream stick in his hand and saw light blue. Sea-salt ice cream.

"It's called sea-salt ice cream, and you liked it, admit it," Lea said, sitting down with his legs hanging over the edge.

Ventus said nothing, just licked his ice cream with a smile and joined Lea. Sora was the last to sit down.

"Do you come up here with Roxas?" he asked.

"Yup. How'd you guess?"

"It feels a little nostalgic. But why would coming up here together be a surprise if it's nothing new?"

"We used to come up here. Him and me. And Xion. You don't know her, but I bet you'd like her, Sora. She was made from you after all," Lea told them. "We would hang out up here all the time. Come here after work, eat ice cream, hang around. For almost a year we would do that. Even if we couldn't all make it, it was our place to hang out. But then Xion- things happened. She's gone now. And then Roxas left the organization and ended up returning to Sora, and with everything that's happened since then, we've never been able to come here again. Plus, now we've got Namine to hang out with, so we wanted to take her up here. Like an inauguration to being our friend. And like I said, we wanted to do this when it was all over. When all this fighting is behind us, you know?"

"Yeah..." Both Sora and Ventus knew exactly what Lea meant. They too had things they wanted to do when the battle was past them.

"I was hoping to go to my favorite places with Kairi and Riku. We'd go flying in Neverland, maybe Riku and I would participate in a struggle battle, we'd train with Phil at the Coliseum, stuff like that," Sora said. Ventus and Lea nodded in understanding.

"Your ice cream is melting," Lea told Sora. Sora stuck his tongue out at Lea before licking the dripping ice cream.

"And you, Lookalike?"

"Well, I want to train with Terra so we can take our mark of mastery exam together. Obviously he'll pass, but I'll have my work cut out for me. But then him and me and Aqua will all be masters. And we can all live together again. And then we'd stay up late talking, and look at the stars together. And since the stars are just distant worlds, we'd probably talk about how all you guys are doing. Though maybe you guys could come and train with us too."

"You mean you haven't decided to wash your hands of us by now?" Lea asked, trying to sound offhanded so that they wouldn't notice his voice had broken.

"Are you kidding? You're my friends."

"Yeah. We're all friends. Friends for life," Sora added.

Lea hoped they didn't notice him wipe away the tear. He'd never had many friends. And his friends always seemed to grow away from him. In truth, since Roxas came back, they hadn't even talked to each other. He had thought maybe Roxas didn't like him anymore. But even if Roxas no longer wanted to be friends, he wasn't letting go that easy. Because Roxas was someone else who needed friends.

"You mean I'm stuck with you jokers? Great."

The intended sarcasm didn't come through. But that was okay, Sora and Ventus knew what he meant.


	26. Errand Boys

The world that they managed to extract from the darkness was bright and cheerful. There were trees with oddly shaped pink nuts, and the air was full of the buzzing of bees. They stuck together to search this time, mindful of the warnings of the master and Vanitas.

When they found the first heart, they were rather baffled as to what they should do. Donald tried throwing spell after spell at it, everything from Curaga to Aeroga to Firaga. Aside from making a mess (Aeroga sent things flying, Graviga broke a few things, and Magnega caused everything to gather before falling to the floor), nothing had any effect. The heart remained as it was.

"Maybe there's some kind of clue somewhere?" Riku said unconvincingly.

Terra bent closer to examine the heart. Out of nowhere, the heart began writhing, and transformed into a heartless.

"You have got to be kidding me," Terra said. If being a keyblade wielder was this much trouble he should never have accepted a keyblade in the first place. All this because he had wanted to be strong.

Riku slashed at the heartless. It was just a shadow, and was easily vanquished. In its place, a bear sat staring back at them.

"Well that's odd. Normally the hearts return to Kingdom Hearts, don't they?" Riku asked Terra.

"Don't ask me. The world as I know it ended when Yen Sid joined the battle."

None of them could argue with that. For all they knew, when Yen Sid destroyed the worlds, he had also rewritten the way things worked.

"Whelp, we'd better get started turning hearts into heartless and heartless into people."

"Excuse me, has anyone seen my hunny pot?" asked the bear. "Because there seems to be a rumbling in my tummy."

This was the kind of thing Riku left to Sora or Kairi and Terra left to Aqua and Ven. The two of them were absolutely baffled as to how to deal with people, so they both turned on their heels and left the bear to Donald.

The next heart also turned into a heartless, which when attacked with the keyblade produced a rabbit, who insisted they help him weed his carrot patch. The next heartless, when vanquished, was a… was it a tiger? Terra couldn't be sure, since it bounced around on its tail, something he'd never heard of tigers doing. He introduced himself as "Tigger, t-i-double guh-er," and talked endlessly of bouncing. Then he pounced right over to the rabbit's carrot patch, and so Terra and Riku found themselves trying to salvage vegetable remains.

"This is a complete waste of time. We're supposed to be restoring the worlds. We come, we bring back the world, and then we enter to bring back the people inside, and then we leave. And last I checked, these vegetables weren't people!" Terra hissed to Riku.

"You figure out how to get past that rabbit. The only solutions I can think of involve getting violent, which we really shouldn't do. We're here to save people, not finish them off for good," Riku snapped back.

Terra growled in frustration, but made no further comment. The rabbit _was_ rather insistent.

Along came Donald with the bear, and a tiny pink creature.

"Hello, Rabbit. Hello new friends," the bear greeted everyone cheerfully. The pink creature hid behind the bear.

"H-h-hello," it said.

"Pooh!" yelled the rabbit, and frantically dove for a blanket, which he threw over a pyramid of pots labelled "hunny".

"Aw, Piglet, don't be shy. Terra and Riku are our friends," Donald told the pink creature.

Terra and Riku exchanged a look, then plastered their attempts at friendly smiles on their faces and waved. Piglet shrank back in terror.

"There's n-no honey here, today. Come back some other time!" Rabbit was telling Pooh.

"I thay, that'th a mighty nice blanket cha got there," Tigger said, and grabbed the blanket the rabbit had thrown over the pots and absconded with it.

"Why Rabbit, is that honey for me?" Pooh asked. "You shouldn't have," he said, toddling over to the pots and dipping a paw into one. He sat down with it and began to devour copious amounts of honey.

"Oh dear," Rabbit said. Terra and Riku had a feeling they knew what came next. "Would you two be so kind as to get me some more honey to replace what Pooh-bear eats?"

So off they went, grumbling as they pursued yet another ridiculous and pointless mission that would slow them down even more.


	27. Facing the Past

If there was one thing Aqua was glad for, it was the fact that here in the distortion there was no true ground, which meant Xehanort couldn't use any earth attacks. Things would have been much more difficult if he could create cliffs on a whim as he had back in the Keyblade Graveyard with Terra and Ven. It was how he'd initially separated them, and then he'd had Vanitas and Braig to back him up and keep the three of them from regrouping to fight him.

However, that was a small consolation since he was still plenty strong and an experienced fighter. Just when you thought you had him where you wanted him, he'd warp and was behind you, casually standing there with one hand behind his back while the other hand had his keyblade raised to kill you. Thank god for Namine. The girl had worked defensive spells with her keyblade, the like of which Aqua had never even seen.

And then if you avoided Xehanort after he warped he could still become a puddle of darkness even if there wasn't truly a ground, and he could cast a version of thundaga that struck with bolts of darkness, and projectiles of darkness, and oh god. He was doing the thing. He had gotten some distance between him and them, and now he had enlarged his keyblade into a cannon. Aqua cartwheeled away, hoping that her friends would also be able to dodge or that Namine's protections would hold.

Goofy dodged, and immediately launched a counterattack. Namine didn't. She may have summoned a keyblade, but the girl was no fighter. She stood, her keyblade held vertically in front of her face. Namine managed to slice the attack, diverting it to either side of herself. Aqua heaved a sigh of relief and cast time splicer, planning to engage her ghost drive style afterwards. But warping only does so much against someone who also warps.

What Aqua couldn't see but Goofy could was that there was a pattern to Xehanort's warps. He would appear to the left next, right? Yes. There he was. And next he would warp forwards, then back left, then far right, then-

Yes, Goofy could see the pattern. He just had to get the timing right.

Goofy took careful aim, and threw his shield.

Xehanort was getting a little tired of this game of cat and mouse with Aqua. He should have simply killed her from the get-go. But no, he'd wanted to use her. How foolish of him. The darkness within Terra would have been much stronger had he been searching for his friend's murderer. But then Eraqus might have acted sooner. Well, it didn't matter now. He would finish her off with the next attack, that he was certain of. He warped.

Goofy's shield hit Xehanort in the jaw. The old man reeled from the shock, and fell sideways, right onto the upward arcing keyblade in Aqua's hand.

When Xehanort's heart vanished, Aqua, Namine, and Goofy all remained on their guard. Aqua in particular could not believe her old foe was really and truly gone. After all, people never seemed to be dead when you thought they were.

But the old man did not reappear, none of them were undergoing any spontaneous hair and eye color changes, and their ears remained unpointed. Xehanort- this version anyways- was dead.

Once it became clear that they were safe for the moment, Aqua and Namine dove back into the world. Back in the heart of Castle Oblivion, Namine undid her barrier, and Aqua unlocked the world. The castle flowed away, and they were left standing in a shadowed hall.

To Namine, it looked as if the hall would be well lit during the day. It was large and airy, and there were plenty of windows. A dais almost identical to the one from Castle Oblivion was there.

"This is where Terra and I took our mark of mastery exam," Aqua said, looking at the windows above sadly. "I passed, he didn't. I couldn't believe that he wasn't a master too. All my life I'd been chasing after him, trying to keep up in our training, and yet I was a master and he wasn't. All because of his darkness. Darkness he'd never struggled with before. I didn't know how to face him after that."

"I didn't think I'd ever see Castle Oblivion as it should be," Namine replied. "Let's set it to rights."

"Actually, can we linger a bit more?"

"Aqua, the world isn't here yet. We can linger after we restore…" Namine trailed off, stunned into silence. For there, in the hall, were ghosts of memories. There was Aqua, looking less tired than she did now, and master Eraqus, with less wrinkles and less gray in his hair. And there was Terra, clearly unhappy but trying to keep it concealed. Terra's memory left the room first.

"This was when we were dispatched to deal with the unversed," Aqua breathed. "And then Ventus ran away. If only I could tell us what would happen, then maybe I could change some things. For Sora and Riku too."

 _But if things hadn't happened the way they did, Roxas and I wouldn't have existed,_ Namine thought. But she didn't say it, since it sounded rather selfish. And she did wish her friends hadn't had to suffer so much.

"Alright. Let's go. Before my heart fails in the face of the memories of this world," Aqua said, and led them back to the distortion.

Namine wondered if it would be better if they found another world. Because she was worried that if she drew this one, Aqua might not be able to go on.


	28. Top Hat Roxas

"I vote we leave," Roxas said. Mostly because Kairi was enjoying herself way too much. She kept poking him with her extra legs. Mickey was having his own bit of fun, since he'd discovered his keyblade had changed form to match his new outfit, and was rather scythe-like. Neither of them was taking things very seriously right now.

"Roxas, lighten up," Kairi told him, patting him on the shoulder with her hand and the two extra left legs. "There's nothing that says we can't have a little fun."

"So it's okay for me to start sucking people's blood like I've been craving?" Kairi recoiled, and Roxas laughed. "I was joking. Drinking blood sounds rather nauseating. I may look like a vampire, but I'm not one."

Kairi relaxed. "Still, do you think you could keep those spider legs to yourself?" Roxas requested. Kairi shrugged.

While none of them said it, Halloween Town did intimidate them. With tacit but unanimous agreement, they stuck together as they proceeded into the streets of the town.

Initially they were going to go into houses and try and find people, but they gave up on that after pushing open a set of gates to the sound of a bloodcurdling scream. Even if it wasn't an actual person, they weren't going to go any farther. As they strayed farther and farther from the town, they still found no hearts. Not until they reached a graveyard did they find a heart. After their eyes cleared from the flash, they saw that the heart belonged to a ghost dog. They dog floated around them, barking playfully. It led them off, back towards town, to another heart.

The girl the second heart belonged to called herself Sally. She told them a bit about the world, and a lot about its leader, Jack Skellington, whom she seemed to have a crush on. She helped them look around. And while they revived a great many people, all very spooky, they did not find the pumpkin king.

"Perhaps he went to visit Christmas Town," suggested the mayor, a man with a second face on the back of his head. Sally led them into the hinterlands, and showed them which door to go through, though she wouldn't follow.

In Christmas Town, they had changed again. Kairi looked like a sheep, she was so fluffy. She had a fluffy hat, fluffy gloves, a fluffy coat, and there was fluff at the top of her boots. Mickey wore a pointed green hat and lots of bells. Roxas looked fairly similar, only the cloak was now a greatcoat, and he had several scarves. His fangs were missing, and, according to Kairi, he now had a festive sprig of holly on his top hat.

They walked into a gingerbread town, and headed towards a big building at the end. They opened the door and reeled from the light of hearts rekindling.

"Catch them!" someone yelled. Barely able to see the three small shapes hurtling towards them, Roxas, Mickey, and Kairi all still managed to grab one. They were three small children wearing masks.

"Why thank you," said a large old man in red.

"Wait, Santa Claus is real? Since when?" Roxas asked. He received a withering look as a result.

"Oh, he's real all right," said a tall skeletally skinny man. "And he's going to let me borrow his sleigh for this next Halloween."

"Jack, while I'm glad you've given up on running Christmas, you need to stop trying to spice up Halloween with other holidays. There's no need for presents or reindeer or sleighs, and I've heard from Easter Town that you've been begging them for eggs and Thanksgiving Town said you want them to supply you with a feast! This is getting out of hand. As are your urchins," Santa said.

It was true. The three children were trying very hard to wriggle out of their captors' hands.

"Right. After I take them home, we can talk more about the sleigh. Now will you three please help me get Lock, Shock, and Barrel home and out of trouble?"

Roxas and the others had no choice but to follow as he sauntered back towards Halloween Town.

"Do you think we'll get to see Easter Town as well?" Kairi asked, a little too innocently. "I'd really love to see Roxas all dressed up like a bunny. Only do you think they'd let him keep the hat? It suits him so well. What a pity I don't have a camera to take pictures for Namine."

Yup. He should have seen that one coming.


	29. Old Friends

They were on their way down from the tower when they heard something fall. Things didn't fall unless something made them.

In the span of a few seconds, they had their keyblades out and were charging onto the station platform. Miraculously, none of them had sprained an ankle leaping down the stairs eight at a time.

In the station entrance someone was trying to fix the bulletin board which they had knocked over. Without a second thought, Ventus and Sora launched themselves forward with what they probably thought were fierce battle cries. Only Lea held back. That person looked vaguely…

"Guys, watch out!" he yelled. "That's Saix!"

The hooded figure dove out of the way as Sora and Ventus brought their keyblades down in unison.

"I'm unarmed!" he yelled putting his hands up.

Lea wasn't listening. He'd put his trust in this friend one too many times, and been betrayed each time as a result.

"Lea, stop it!" Saix yelled.

"Like hell I will! You've burned me every time I believed in you. Now it's your turn!"

Saix dodged again as Lea's keyblade let loose a vortex of flames. His cloak caught, and he rolled, trying to put the flames out.

"Need help?" Ventus asked icily, standing above their enemy.

"Ventus. It's me, Isa."

"Oh no. We're not falling for that," Lea said acidly.

"Wait Lea, I think-"

Lea charged again, and Sora got in the way.

"Lea, we can listen to what he has to say, and then decide what to do with him later," Sora said.

"But-"

"Wouldn't Saix have just assumed I'm Roxas?" Ventus asked, casting blizzard to put out the flames.

Lea stood with his mouth open and a finger raised, seeking a counterargument but being forced to acknowledge the two of them had a point.

"Ugh these pacifists will be the death of me," he said to no one in particular.

"Same old Lea," Isa said. Lea wrinkled his nose and turned his back. Isa raised his eyebrows, but he was too well-practiced at indifference to actually smile. Lea sighed.

"Y'know, maybe it is Isa."

"Trust me, I'm not the darkness you'll probably have to face," Isa said, getting heavily to his feet.

"Um, there's a bit of a problem with what you just said. Something about the 'trust you' part?"

"What do you mean, the darkness we'll probably have to face? Don't talk in riddles!" Sora demanded.

"It's not a riddle. Some of the darknesses survived Yen Sid. They're still running around. Those of us who were synthetic darknesses, as you can see, are back to who we were."

"That's still pretty cryptic if you ask me," Ventus shot back. The other two nodded. Isa sighed.

"Let me put it simply. Xehanort inserted his heart into certain people whom he deemed had suitable darkness. He did this to Braig, and he did it to me as well shortly before we all became heartless. So Saix and Xigbar both were really more versions of Xehanort, and therefore were not true darknesses, but synthetic ones. Only when Yen Sid did whatever he did, he released us from Xehanort's grasp. Had you not already released your friend Terra, the same thing would have happened to him."

"Okaaaay. So you're saying that essentially all the darknesses were Xehanort, but some weren't really and now they're okay, but the ones that were left that were Xehanort are still running around and we have to defeat them. Is that right?"

"Um, yes? I think? Lea, while I may have once been able to decode your nonsense, it's been quite a while since then and I've really lost my touch. Please speak comprehensively."

"Well the good thing is, I haven't forgotten how to translate for you so easily."

"Oh really."

"Yeah, say something to these two. Anything."

"Sora, Ventus, why do you waste time with this idiot?"

"Translating… aha! Got it! What he meant was 'Sora, Ventus, I just want you guys to know that Lea is the best and I love him dearly and you should be very nice to him because he's awesome, and also I am a poophead.' Did I get it right?"

"Whatever."


	30. The Wood

"How is it that we're hearing bees everywhere and yet we can't find a single hive?" Terra asked.

Riku wasn't listening. There was a heart up on that tree branch. He jumped and swung upwards from branch to branch, until he reached the branch the heart was on. It rippled, and then turned into an air soldier, which promptly fled.

Riku gave chase, not noticing that Terra followed below him. Terra followed suit and entered the trees, but he covered the distance between himself and the heartless much faster than Riku did with his air slide technique. Riku took a wild swing, and the heartless had the audacity to circle around him, taunting him for missing it. Terra didn't miss.

An owl flapped wildly where the heartless had been, trying to stay airborne. When it was evident that his efforts would fail, the owl tried for at least a semi-dignified landing. That too, failed.

"I don't suppose you'd know where we can find some honey?" Riku asked.

"As a matter of fact I do. You came to the right Owl. I am the smartest person in the Hundred Acre Wood, if I do say so myself." He ruffled his feathers self-importantly. Riku rolled his eyes.

"Could you show us?" Terra asked.

"Why of course. It's as simple as can be. Do you know, my great-great-uncle Herman was the one who first discovered the honey tree. He was flying along, when he encountered some jagulars, they were quite common in the area back then, and-" Terra and Riku had both stopped listening by then. The owl prattled on as he led the way through the woods, until finally they reached a tall tree with a hole at the top.

"Looks like you'll have to handle this one, Riku," Terra said. "Those upper branches will never hold my weight. And that hole would be a tight fit for me."

Riku sighed. "Why don't you head back and get some of those pots to put the honey in," he suggested. Terra complied. Unfortunately for Riku, Owl decided to stay with him. It was at least fifteen minutes before Terra returned, and they may very well have been the longest fifteen minutes Riku had ever lived through. Owl had a story for everything, and any of his stories involved several side stories as he went on tangents to tell you every detail of every person place or thing mentioned in his parable. Riku was very near resorting to beating his head with a rock to end his misery before Terra returned, balancing five of the pots.

"Sorry, I got lost coming back," Terra told him. Riku leapt to his feet to help Terra with the pots.

"That bear ate so much honey already?"

"Apparently Rabbit had a couple of spare pots, but yeah, three of these are freshly emptied."

The two of the rigged up a pulley system so that they could send pots up to Riku, and when it was full he could send it down as a new one came up. As he filled pots, Terra went back and checked on the situation back at Rabbit's house. In the end he brought another six pots for Riku to fill, one of which was a re-refill from one of the pots they'd taken back.

Finally, Pooh's hunger was satiated, and they were able to return to seeking out hearts.

They only found four more. A donkey, a gopher, and a kangaroo and her joey. However, some of their new revivals also had tasks for them, such as finding the donkey's tail and rebuilding his house and helping the gopher fix a pipe and then they wanted to thank them for all their help.

"Do you guys know Sora?" Roo asked them.

"Yeah. He's actually my best friend," Riku answered.

"Oh boy! They know Sora!"

"Where is Sora now?" Pooh asked.

"We don't know, really. But we'll find him."

"When you do, you'll have to bring him here and we can all have a party together," Kanga said.

"Yes, that'll be very nice," Rabbit said.

"I don't believe you've introduced yourselves," Owl said. "We must know your names."

"I'm Riku."

"Terra."

"And I'm Donald Duck."

"Well thank you for everything Riku, Terra, Donald Duck. feel free to stay as long as you want," Kanga told them.

"Yes. Th-th-th-thank you," Piglet seconded, followed by a chorus of thank you's from everyone else.

"Actually, we have to go soon," Terra told them.

"Oh. That's rather sad," said Pooh.

"Well you'll always be welcome in the Hundred Acre Wood," Kanga informed them.

"Yeah. If you come back thoon, I'll even teach you how to be a first-rate bouncer," Tigger told them.

It had been a pain, but Terra, Riku, and Donald all felt a little melancholy in leaving the Hundred Acre Wood.

Still, they would come back, with Sora, and then they'd all have a party.


	31. Girl Time

With every drawing Namine drew, the more Aqua seemed to both light up and shut down. She had memories everywhere, though the happy nostalgia also hurt her because it had been taken from her so painfully. Like here. Here was where she and Terra and Ventus would look at the stars. And this was where they would train. The master had set up those rings over there specially for Ventus, and down there was the room where they could endlessly practice their magic. Ironically, Terra had spent more time there than Aqua, since magic had come naturally to her while her friend had struggled with it. And there was the hallway where their bedrooms were, and the kitchen, and the baths which felt life-giving after a day of training.

Aqua's memories were everywhere.

They all felt the world snap back to what it should be. A little shudder in the fabric of the world and then it fit right, like too-long pair of pants that had been properly hemmed.

Aqua turned to Namine.

"Namine, thank you. For restoring this world. For everything. Thank you." There were tears on the woman's face, and Namine felt scared.

Aqua showed them to rooms they could sleep, and then where the men's and women's bath entrances were. While Namine luxuriated in a tub that truly was amazing, Aqua made them dinner as well.

Namine awoke in the middle of the night and went to the cliffs on a whim. Sure enough, Aqua sat watching the sky.

"There used to be so many up there. Dozens and dozens of stars. All of them worlds. It was so beautiful."

"But look, there's some up there now. I bet one's Deep Space, and those other few must be worlds the others have brought back."

"There's only fourteen worlds up there. That's not that many."

"Well there's nine of our friends. We've already gotten two worlds working together, maybe they've been working hard too."

"Maybe. But I think we should be working harder. I'm worried we'll run out of time."

"Does that mean you're not going to stay here?"

"Why would I stay here?"

"I thought you would, since you seem like you love this place too much to leave it."

"Namine, this was my home. Of course I am glad to see it restored. But I can't just stay here when we've got work to do. And what about you and Goofy? How could I abandon you? Or our other friends? I'd be betraying them too if I laze around. I could never accept myself if I let everyone down like that."

"I'm glad. I would have missed you if you decided to stay."

They sat in silence, until they were both nearly asleep.

"Aqua?"

"Yes, Namine?" Aqua was so sleepy, the girl's name came out more like "Numnay".

"Thanks for being my friend."


	32. Holiday

"That does it!"

Roxas's hat just would not stay on his head. It kept slipping off, or slipping down, and it was driving him crazy. Not to mention it was probably ruining his hair.

"Why am I even wearing this stupid thing anyways? When I came here before, I didn't change or anything."

"Remember that assimilation charm Yen Sid gave us all?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah."

"Didn't you know what it does?"

"No. And I still don't know."

"To reduce the strain on the worlds, it helps you change your appearance to match worlds that are particularly unique. This is one such world."

"Does that mean Yen Sid was planning to destroy the worlds all along?"

"No. Master Yen Sid just believed that even after we defeated the darknesses, we'd still have to rid the worlds of the excess heartless and nobodies. And since we can't all bring along magicians like Donald and Aqua, he thought it would be a good idea to give us the charms."

"Well couldn't he have given me one that didn't involve ridiculous top hats?"

"I still think it looks cute," Kairi told him.

By this time, they had reached the door back to Halloween Town. Their guide, Jack, had to be pulled away from a door marked with a large heart, but they did make it through the correct door, and were greeted by Sally.

"Wow, you guys look fabulous!" Jack Skellington exclaimed when he saw them. He oohed and ahhed over each of them, shaking each of Kairi's extra legs as well as her hands, and complimenting Mickey's grim reaper cloak.

"And you! Nice hat!" he told Roxas. Kairi gave him a look of the "See? I told you so" variety, and Roxas was certain that if he'd been in Christmas Town still he would have melted all the snow.

"And such a scary face!" Jack added, which didn't cheer Roxas up at all, though it certainly amused Mickey and Kairi.

Jack led them on, and when they reached the town square, they released the three troublemakers, who skittered off to who knew where.

"Will you come with me to talk to Sandy about the sleigh?" Jack asked them.

"Didn't Santa say that it was a bad idea?" Roxas asked.

"Oh Sandy didn't mean it."

Jack sauntered off, and the three of them agreed that letting him go like that was a bad idea, even if it meant backtracking. They'd really been going every which way since they arrived here in Halloween Town.

"We might also find more hearts in Christmas Town," Mickey said as they raced after Jack.

Despite not having much of a lead on them, they did not catch up to Jack until he was already back at Santa's workshop. Santa was trying to ignore Jack and search for his missing elves, who appeared with the usual light show the moment Roxas and co showed up.

"For the last time, you cannot borrow my sleigh!" Santa exclaimed as several dazed elves staggered back to their work stations.

"But-!"

"Jack, Santa's sleigh doesn't scare people," Kairi soothed. "Halloween is all about scary, isn't it? If you start taking things from other holidays it just won't be so scary."

The pumpkin king stopped to consider this.

"And besides, everyone knows there's nothing like your artistic touch. You'd be spoiling Halloween by borrowing the ideas of others," Roxas added, lying through his teeth.

"Well, I suppose that's true," Jack said. He tapped his chin with one finger, then decided. "Sandy, I'm afraid I cannot accept your offer to borrow your sleigh. But perhaps we could go for a ride together sometime. Ta-ta! I have a Halloween to plan!"

He dashed out the door as the group heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"That was quite naughty, telling a lie like that," Santa scolded. Roxas's face reddened. "But for a good cause. I think I shall file that as a white lie, because you have been being so good it would be a shame to give you coal just for that."

"Huh?"

"You are all on the nice list. There is nothing nicer that I can think of than saving the worlds. You will all be getting presents this year. Even that rapscallion Sora and that prankster Lea." Santa winked as Roxas stared.

"Sora will be overjoyed to hear that," Kairi said. "He was absolutely crestfallen this past Christmas since he said he would never be on the nice list because he told Riku he didn't believe in you."

"I was just teasing him. He needed to not be so overconfident about everything. Unlike Roxas here, who needs to have a little more faith in himself."

As Roxas blushed crimson, the snow outside the workshop melted. Luckily there was constant snowfall to replace it, so no one noticed.

Santa directed them to some more hearts, and then they were ready to leave.

Back in the gray, Roxas reveled at being back in his normal clothing.

And good riddance to that stupid hat!


	33. Embarrassment

"Isa, pleeeeeeease just shut up already," Lea said.

"Oh come on Lea, we wanna hear this one," Sora said.

"Why do you guys need to hear about the time I sat in fresh tar and then got stuck?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Because you've been hearing about my every embarrassing moment from the time I was two since three hours ago? Come on, time is ticking."

"Slave-driver."

"Maybe I can help you guys," Isa said.

"Yeah right. When would you have connected with any hearts here."

"I suppose there's no helping it then. But I shall accompany you."

"Why must you torture me so?"

"Because it's fun to watch you be so melodramatic."

Lea led the way, fuming as Isa continued to tell humiliating stories about him. He'd get back at him for this. Isa would come to regret this day.

They finally found some familiar hearts in a back alley. Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Once brought back, they sat frozen in mid-chatter, awaiting the restoration of their world.

Next they found Seifer and his crew in the Sandlot. They also found various shopkeepers Sora and Lea knew, and soon the world was complete. Through it all Isa kept telling stories.

As the world returned to itself, Hayner, Pence, and Olette came running up.

"Hey guys!" Hayner called cheerfully.

Pence looked thoughtful. "Hey Lea, did you really try to eat five wasps on a dare and end up in the hospital?" he asked.

"ISA!"

"What, how was I supposed to know they could still hear me even if they couldn't move?"

"You shouldn't be telling those stories anyways! My embarrassing moments are to be kept private, okay? Got it memorized, Isa?"

"No wonder you specialize in fire with a temper like that."

"Drop. Dead."

Sora was doubled over from laughing. Ventus wasn't laughing, but his face kept breaking into awkward grins because he couldn't keep his mirth completely under control.

"Some friends," Lea muttered.

Just then Seifer came running up.

"Which one of you losers is the one who tried to kiss a sleeping guard dog and woke it up and got bitten?" he asked.

The only straight face on the entire street was Lea's glowering one.


	34. Fluffy

Once again, Terra found himself carrying Donald and Riku.

"You guys better get me some elixirs or something for this." He told them.

"Don't worry, I'll get you some ice cream." Riku replied. "There's this great flavor I've heard of called Rockin' Crunch. It's got lots of nuts and caramel. You'll love it."

"I'd better."

Terra plodded on, though he found it hard to stay annoyed with Riku once the boy took a nap. It was hard to be mad at anyone when they were asleep.

However, Terra wasn't so forgiving as to not get a tiny bit of revenge. When he found the next heart and they were still snoozing, he chose to wake them up by dropping them.

Riku somehow landed on his feet. Terra had to give the boy's reflexes some credit. Donald however, landed bill-first on the ground in mid-snore. He leapt up, shouting out a garbled spell.

"Fithunzzaga!"

Terra and Riku ignored his sputtering and instead began gathering darkness to restore the world.

"Is it just me, or does this darkness feel a little… darker than before?" Riku asked. His voice was strained.

Terra didn't answer. He was sweating bullets, trying to keep this darkness under control. Something was definitely wrong. The darkness did not stop growing, even when they tried to cut it off.

The world began to grow around them, but it was a world filled to the brim with darkness. The three of them stared as their surroundings revealed a withered plain, under a sky devoid of any light.

"Well, this is lovely. I think this would be a great place for a picnic," Riku said, trying to stay calm. He was NOT prone to hysterics, dang it.

"Maybe with some of that ice cream you promised," Terra suggested.

Riku turned to him and almost fell over laughing. Terra was now a large, furry, lion.

"What's so funny? You may not have noticed, but you're looking a bit different too."

True. It did feel a bit odd, walking around on four legs instead of one. This was not an ideal circumstance for a fight, which seemed imminent. After all, he had to hold his keyblade with his mouth. He might get tooth marks on the grip for crying out loud. Not to mention it tasted terrible. Why couldn't his keyblade come in bacon-flavored or something?

"We should get moving. Even if this world is like this, we should still try to restore everyone," Terra said with authority.

"But what if the world being dark changes things? Last time we turned the hearts into heartless and the heartless into people, but what if here killing the heartless does the normal thing and releases their hearts to return to Kingdom Hearts?" Riku asked.

"Well then what do you suggest we do?"

"How about you die?" asked another voice. Riku and Terra jumped aside. Riku messed up his landing, having not yet adjusted to his paws, which was quite fortunate as it caused him to roll safely out of the way of the attack.

Riku regained his paws to see someone he had hoped to forget. It was the heartless who called himself Ansem, and who had made Riku a prisoner to the darkness not so long ago. It was easy to recognize him, for he looked exactly the same, since he neither had an assimilation charm nor cared if he disturbed the residents of this world.

"Hello Riku. Did you miss me, boy?"


	35. Reminiscence

Luckily for Namine and Aqua, Goofy found them and brought out some blankets. It was a chilly night, and they might have caught colds sleeping outside like that.

In the morning, Aqua made breakfast, teaching Namine how to make pancakes. Afterwards, Goofy and Namine waited quietly while Aqua went back to the cliffs to stare off into the distance.

"Well, I came back," she said to the air. "I'll be going again now, but next time, I'll be sure to bring back Terra and Ven and the master."

She returned to them, and they went off, leaving the Land of Departure behind to return to the distortion.

"This gray is so irritating," Aqua said. "We should hurry up and restore some worlds so that this will go away."

Namine smiled as Aqua led them onwards, away from her home. She shouldn't have worried. Any woman who let herself fall into darkness in an attempt to rescue her friend would surely have the courage to keep moving forward. Aqua clearly did.

Luckily, the next heart appeared not long after they left. Namine's legs were only aching when they saw it.

She and Aqua dove in, and found themselves in a small stone room. Around the room, various trophies were on display. Most of them were labelled "Hercules", but a few were labelled "Sora". There was also one that said "Terra", and the one next to it said-

"Hey Aqua, you've been here before?" Namine asked. Aqua nodded.

"This is the Coliseum."

"Wow. It's amazing."

"Are you ready to draw?"

"Yup."

Aqua brought them back to Goofy, and Namine sat down to draw. Within a minute, the lobby they'd been in was up, and there was a satyr named Phil enthusiastically greeting Aqua, begging her to let him train her.

Namine looked around and chose the larger of the two doors. On the other side she found a wide courtyard, and when she turned around there were large statues of warriors on either side of the door. She drew this too, and had barely completed the drawing when Aqua came running out to escape Phil.

Namine calmly walked across the courtyard to the entrance, and saw two paths. One looked to head towards a small town. The other path was a somewhat ominous staircase down into a dark cavern.

Feeling adventurous, Namine chose to descend the stairs. This place looked intriguing.

Aqua watched Namine go into the as yet uncharted realms of the world. She waited patiently while Namine drew, and when the new portions solidified, followed downward. Namine's drawings led them down into a maze of craggy rocks and steep drops.

As one portion cleared, Aqua spotted a person bent over a sword. He was coughing quite a bit.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Zack's gray face lit up when he saw her. "I knew it! I always knew you'd come back to see me again!"

He staggered to his feet and managed a few wobbly steps before he fell forward. Aqua managed to catch him, just barely, and he smiled up at her.

"I guess… I… fell… for you," he gasped.

His eyes rolled up and he passed out in Aqua's arms while Namine watched with amusement.


	36. Youthful Past

Roxas stretched out on the sand. This new world was pretty nice.

"You know, Sora does that all the time. Stretches out like that, I mean. He always falls asleep too. And then I have to wake him up. Sometimes I pour sand on him," Kairi said.

"That is just plain cruel," Roxas told her.

"I don't see how. It's not like he's not already getting sand everywhere."

"Yeah, well it's not like just because you've got a little sand in your clothes doesn't mean you need more!"

"Who said anything about clothes? I just said I pour the sand on him."

"If it's on you, it's going to get in your clothes."

"Guys, we have work to do," Mickey scolded.

Roxas groaned, but he did get up.

"Alright. Let's see, any hearts around here? Any? No?"

"Wait, I think that's one over there," Kairi said.

Further down the beach, near the bridge over to the islet where Kairi used to sit and watch the sunset with Sora and Riku, was where the heart was.

"I'll got check out that shack," Mickey volunteered.

Kairi and Roxas approached the heart together. When they were close enough, it came to life.

A young man stood in front of them. He wore a black tunic and pants, and calf-length black boots. He also had gray hair, and when he turned to them, yellow eyes.

"Hello," Kairi said. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Kairi. This is Roxas, though you wouldn't know him, since he's not from around here. Are you from the main island?"

Roxas wasn't so sure he didn't know the stranger. He was getting a strange sensation, like deja vu.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, bowing. "I am from the main island, though I left home a long time ago. It is strange to be back in this small little world."

Above them, Mickey exited the shack on the upper level, having found no one inside. He gasped and summoned his keyblade.

"Xehanort!"

Roxas and Kairi both leapt back. Xehanort gazed levelly at them, calmly assessing the situation.

"Kairi, hasn't anyone told you not to talk to strangers?" Roxas asked.

"Well how was I supposed to know he was our enemy?"

"What a shame," Xehanort said. "Yes, it's really a shame. If King Mickey hadn't interrupted, I might have gotten some useful information from you two. And you never would have wasted any time futilely fighting back. Now your deaths won't be nearly so peaceful, I'm afraid."

If Kairi and Roxas had had any doubts that this man was pure evil, they didn't anymore.

"You tried to make Riku and Sora into darknesses. You'll pay for that!" Mickey accused.

Xehanort didn't respond, and Roxas felt his sense of danger tingling. He lunged, dragging Kairi as far away from the man as possible. She may have learned a few tricks and was certainly good at fighting, but this was one of the darknesses.

Then again, Kairi was one of the lights. Maybe she'd be the key to their victory.

Where Roxas and Kairi had been a moment ago, Xehanort's keyblade whipped through. Roxas stared. He had never seen a keyblade in a whip form before. And it was already back to keyblade form, and shooting at them. Mickey was leaping down from the bridge above, but Xehanort was slashing, and the slash extended beyond his keyblade, adding extra reach to his attacks. Mickey managed to avoid getting hit, but he couldn't get close.

Roxas idly wondered if he had the ability to spontaneously learn and master triple wielding, because he wasn't sure his double wielding ability would even make a difference against this guy.


	37. Translating

"So Isa, what will you do now?" Lea asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well now that we've cleaned Twilight Town up, we're gonna be heading off to a new world. But it's not like you can help us with this restoring business."

"So soon. I was hoping to hang out some more."

"Aw come on. Back in the day it was always like 'hurry up Lea,' 'we need to go, Lea,' 'quit wasting time, Lea.' Always so impatient."

"Don't forget 'Lea, we don't have time for this,'" Ventus added. "I'm pretty sure that's verbatim." Isa laughed. It was a shocking experience for Sora, who had never seen an actual laugh from him before. He'd seen Saix laugh, but that had been cruel and meant to spite.

"If you must move on, I do have a place I ought to go."

"Then go. Sheesh get out of here." Lea flapped a hand. Isa turned to go.

"And Isa, don't go becoming a darkness again, okay? I like my friends when they're not all possessed and crazy."

Lea turned away so that if Isa looked back, he wouldn't see Lea's face. However this meant Lea had a perfectly good view of Sora and Ventus, who were both grinning at him.

"Oh come on you two," he grumbled. As Isa went one way, they headed off in the other direction. Once away from people, they exited the world. Even though they were right outside the world, Isa was nowhere in sight. No matter how many times they looked back at the world as they left it behind, he did not appear.

After a while, Lea heaved a big sigh.

"Ahhhhhh. Feels good to be alone again, doesn't it?"

"Lea, he's your friend. It's okay to admit you missed him," Ventus said.

"Yeah Lea."

"But that's just it. I didn't. He had become so… different. Like he wasn't even him anymore. Heh. I guess that's because he wasn't. But I had Roxas and Xion. And Namine. You know? And now I've got you guys, and I guess… I don't know. It's like I don't know how to be friends with him anymore."

"You'll figure it out. You've got plenty of time," Ventus told him. Sora, meanwhile, had stopped in his tracks and looked like he was thinking hard.

"What? Something wrong kiddo?"

"Well, I was thinking I'd heard you say we were your friends now. But we all know _that_ can't be right."

"Oh you. Besides, I never said anything about being friends with you. I just said I've got you guys. And boy what an unfortunate person I am. All alone, lost in an emptiness devoid of worlds, and all I've got is you two goofballs. What a nightmare this has been."

"Well, Isa may have forgotten how to translate Lea-an, but I think I'm getting the hang of it," Ventus said. "Sora, he just told us that we're some of his best friends after Roxas, and that he's really glad to have met us. And he would have been really lonely by himself, so he's really glad we're around, and he feels really lucky to have friends like us. Am I right?"

"No!" Lea said emphatically.

"I got the same thing!" Sora exclaimed. "Man, are our translators spot on or what?"

"I think I'm going to get an ulcer hanging out with you two," Lea said. "Though I suppose you guys are good for tickling…"

Sora and Ventus exchanged a look and took off running. Lea chased after them, yelling for them to stop, to come back, to just let him tickle them already. Nothing slowed them down.

"Hey guys, I found another world heart!"

Nuh-uh. They weren't falling for that trick.

"No really! Guuuuuuuys!"

Sora and Ventus ran on, until Lea was just a speck in the distance. Which didn't mean he was far at all in this place.

"What do you think?" Ventus panted. "Was he telling the truth?"

"You find out."

Ventus cautiously approached Lea. Sora remained a few steps behind him, ready to book it again at the drop of a hat. But there was no trickery involved. Lea really had found another world.


	38. A Costly Mistake

"If you're going to tell me to accept you again, forget it!" Riku yelled at Ansem. The man-shaped heartless merely inclined his head, summoned his shadowy other who reared back and then brought his fists crashing down, and shouted "Submit!"

Donald cast a flurry of spells, all of which headed to the correct target, strangely enough. It made Terra wonder if perhaps his horrible aim previously had been on purpose. If so, he'd be getting the duck back for it later. Especially since the duck had also made him carry it.

Fighting as a lion was something to get used to. Luckily they were pretty fast learners. They were soon finding ways to utilize the power of these new bodies. They could slink far lower than their human forms, which was quite useful against the flying blades the heartless duo sent out. But they also had further to travel to avoid attacks since they now had longer bodies. Terra in particular had difficulties dodging when Ansem sent bursts of darkness up from the ground.

And then Ansem made his big mistake. Donald was harassing Ansem with spells. Thundaga and Firaga and Blizzaga and Stopga and many more. Ansem could bind one of them using his second self, and he chose to bind Donald. Riku and Terra launched a series of devastating attacks. By the time Ansem tried to remedy his mistake, they had already left him heavily damaged. He attempted to use his secondary self to create a shield, but Donald was already casting Sleep, and Riku and Terra were finishing him off.

"And good riddance!" Riku yelled as the sky cleared. Terra was disgusted to note that it was shrouded in clouds and almost the exact same shade of gray as the emptiness outside.

"That was too easy," Terra murmured.

"Nah, I've fought him plenty of times before, so by now he's no real threat, especially if I have help. Had I fought him alone it might have taken a couple of minutes more. So thanks Terra!"

"Hey! What about me?" Donald squawked.

"Oh yeah. You too," Riku said. Terra could tell the boy had left the duck out on purpose. He laughed.

"So any votes for where we head to?" Riku asked, changing the subject. "We could try for that great big rock over there, or there's some cliffs thataway, or over there it looks like there's some enormous skulls."

"Not the skulls," Terra said.

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I lost it. I think Xehanort might have picked it up somewhere, and you know that guy. He doesn't like to give back things he's taken."

"Yeah. You got that right," Riku said with a bitter laugh.

"Let's go to Pride Rock and check on Simba," Donald suggested.

"Who's Simba?" Terra and Riku asked.

Simba turned out to be a lion who was friends with Sora. He was also quite strong, as they discovered when he turned into a boss-class heartless. Luckily they weren't too tired out and managed to defeat him without too much trouble, just a few scratches really- okay, so if Donald hadn't been quick with Curaga Riku might have lost his tail and Terra would have gotten a scar to match Eraqus, but what was life without taking a few whacks here and there?

Simba turned out to be a great choice for revival, since he helped them with the other revivals. As it turned out, there were a good many lionesses around, all of whom were excellent hunters and no one to look down on, even in heartless form. But none of them managed to cause any noteworthy injuries.


	39. Romance in Greece

Namine put her drawing on hold to help Aqua nurse Zack. Mostly because it was amusing. They carried him back up to the lobby from earlier on Goofy's advice. As he told them, the caverns were part of the underworld, and the underworld had a draining effect on mortals. Above Zack soon recovered consciousness.

"So Aqua, about that date you promised me…" he began. Aqua turned bright pink and waved her hands, trying to shush him.

"I think it's going to have to be put on hold. I haven't become a hero yet. I mean, what kinda lame-brain hero has to get rescued? And by his girlfriend no less!"

"Girlfriend?!" Aqua, Namine, Goofy, and Phil all exclaimed. When Aqua glared at them, Phil went skittering out of the lobby, where they could all hear him whistling outside. Goofy followed more slowly, though Namine stubbornly stayed where she was, hoping that if she stayed quiet enough, they would forget she was there. She took out her sketch pad and began drawing the last area she'd seen before Zack surprised them. If she finished this drawing, she might decide to draw this moment as well, for the memories. She'd done a few other such drawings on this trip, such as Goofy teaching 626 how to toss a shield, or stargazing in the Land of Departure. She wanted to remember the time she'd spent with these two on their adventures.

"I never agreed to be your girlfriend," Aqua protested.

"Oh come on. We're totally made for each other. I'm awesome, and you kick butt, and we're both heroes- or at least, I'm gonna be a hero anyway. And I promise we'll have lots of fun and you can break up with me whenever you want, but we have to have that date first."

"But this time too I've got things I need to do. I won't be here long enough for you to become a hero and I don't know when I'll come back."

"Once I become a hero, I'll come and find you. You'll see."

"Well, anyways, what were you doing in the underworld?"

"Oh. That place. I was down there to see Hades. See, I heard that this place opened up down there where they hold colossal tournaments, and if you win you get to see Hades, and I still have a bone to pick with him from last time."

"But the underworld drains people apparently."

"Yeah, I heard that too. But I've gotten stronger since back then, and I really need to teach that guy a lesson!"

"But what if you'd gotten killed?"

"Not a problem. I'm not gonna die before we have our date."

"Will you stop bringing up that date? You decided that on your own, Zack!"

Zack laughed. Perfect. Namine had just gotten to his face, and that was a good expression. She wasn't sure she liked the flustered expression on Aqua's face though. Should she change it to the gentle face from her memories? But that didn't seem right. Besides, she might unconsciously manipulate Aqua, and that was not cool.

With her drawing done and Zack clearly on the mend, Namine had to admit that she was just being nosy sticking around here. She returned to her explorations, and soon finished the world.

She returned to the lobby to meet with Goofy and Aqua, and found Aqua trying to escape her suitor.

"But you only just got here! You can't leave already!"

"Zack, I told you, I have things I need to do."

"So take me with you. I'll be your bodyguard."

"Zack, I can't do that. We're…"

"We're undercover!" Namine blurted out. Zack, Phil, and the couple consisting of a very buff guy and his gorgeous girlfriend all turned to stare at her, as did Aqua and Goofy. "You know, like spies? If we have any extra people it will ruin everything." Couldn't she have thought of a better lie? How embarrassing!

Goofy recovered first. "Gawrsh, Namine. We're not supposed to tell people that. It's supposed to be secret." Aqua caught on.

"Well we don't really have a choice here. I'm sure these guys can keep a secret. They won't tell anyone."

"Aw no, baby. You don't have to worry about me. My lips are sealed. Word of a satyr," Phil said. He leaned in close. "Between you and me, what's the buzz?"

"Phil! You can't ask her to tell you that!" Zack exclaimed. "They've already risked a lot, just telling us this much. Go Aqua. Take care of your mission. Because if this is meant to be, which I know it is, then we'll meet again like we did this time."

As they waved goodbye, Namine couldn't resist.

"You liiiiike him, don't you?"

They exited the world as record speed, with Aqua's face shining bright red like a stop light.


	40. Multi-wielding

It seemed extremely incongruous for Xehanort to be producing huge chunks of ice to knock around on a beach. It had to be at least 90 degrees out. Where was the ice coming from? It made no sense!

Regardless of whether or not it made sense, Xehanort was doing just that, and those ice chunks were not easy to dodge. They moved rather fast despite the fact that they were bigger than any of the fighters.

Roxas leapt backwards over one, his left hand keyblade slicing through it while his right hand keyblade arced upward, preparing to either block Xehanort's keyblade or make an attack of his own. However, just as he reached Xehanort, the man became transparent, and Roxas had to put his guard up to make sure the real Xehanort who had just warped away wasn't planning on attacking him.

He wasn't. He was headed towards Kairi. Like Roxas, Xehanort had identified her as the weakest fighter, and probably the weakest link. Kairi however, was not cowed at all. She smiled sweetly, keyblade at the ready while waiting for him to come. With a flourish, she raised her keyblade above her head. Ghostly copies of her keyblade spread downward from it, similar to Ventus's Wingblade style. Kairi extended her keyblade to Xehanort, who had been waylaid in his charge by Mickey. As Xehanort knocked Mickey aside, the ghost blades also pointed at Xehanort, and shot towards him. He dodged, but each ghost blade left behind a spell. Xehanort warped rapidly, trying to confuse the spells that dogged him. He successfully avoided the blizzard and thunder spells, but was bogged down by gravity and unable to avoid fire.

Burning, the young Xehanort cast a spell. A clock appeared in the midst of the beach-battlefield, and Xehanort disappeared into it. Roxas raced towards it, certain that destroying that clock would spell death for their foe. He almost didn't see the doubles until too late. He dodge-rolled, but they slashed the air, creating a fiery x in the air that forced him farther from the clock. More doubles created flaming vortexes that chased after Mickey. Still more doubles chased after Kairi. She managed her defense well, using the ghost blades as a wall, but her fighting style was based on magic and agility. If Xehanort could overpower her, she would be in trouble.

"Kairi!" Roxas yelled. She managed to cartwheel away from the doubles, a skill she must have learned from Aqua, though when had she had time to study all this? Roxas and Mickey joined her, and they made their attack. Mickey used a spell to increase his and Roxas's speed, since Xehanort would certainly be casting slow, but would only hit one of them if they did this right. Using Aeroga, Mickey launched Roxas into the air, and Roxas rebounded off a tree to rocket towards the clock face. Meanwhile, Kairi launched ghost blade after ghost blade, cutting down doubles before they had the chance to do any damage. In mid-air, Roxas flipped, letting his momentum continue to spin him until he turned like a wheel with his keyblades as spokes, becoming a spinning slash attack. He struck at the same time as Mickey, as Kairi's ghost blades inserted themselves into the ground around them, engaging the Wingblade finishing move and blasting everything inside with light.

Had Roxas not been inside along with Xehanort and Mickey, he might have suspected that Xehanort got away. There was no trace of him when the light had faded. But the sunglasses he'd gotten in Radiant Garden proved their worth, and allowed him to watch as the young version of Xehanort was erased by the light that overpowered his darkness. They had won.

Exhausted, the three of them sat on the beach. They took their shoes off, and Roxas rolled up his pants, and they let the waves wash up over their feet. They were still sitting there when the boat arrived.

"Kairi!" a girl exclaimed. She came racing over and knocked Kairi over with a hug. Her shout was echoed by two boys, who also came rushing over.

"Psst, Mickey," Roxas whispered. "If we haven't been restoring the hearts in this world how are there people up and about?"

"Well I don't know Roxas. But I think maybe Kairi's light there must have woken everybody up."

In due time, Roxas and Mickey were introduced to the newcomers, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. The three of them all peered closely at Roxas.

"Y'know, there's something familiar about this kid…" Selphie said.

"Yeah, I can't quite put my finger on it," Tidus added.

"It's like we've met before, only we've never even seen him, yeah?" Wakka said.

Kairi smiled but didn't explain anything about the connection between Roxas and Sora. Roxas wondered if this was how Sora had felt when he'd first met Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Later, as they were preparing to go, he found Kairi in a well-hidden cave.

"This is our secret place. We used to come down here. See these drawings? Sora and I did most of them. Riku also did a few, though he always said he thought having a secret place was childish." Roxas looked at the etchings on the walls. He couldn't be certain, but he was more than willing to venture a guess as to who did which drawings.

"Would it be okay if I did one?" he asked.

"Sure. I'd also like Namine to come here. I bet she'd love it."

"Yeah, I really think she would."


	41. Just For Lea

"Whoever's sick idea of a joke this is, it's not funny!" Lea yelled at the distant surface.

"We certainly 'dove' into this world, right?" Sora said, laughing. Lea attempted to shoot a fire spell at him, but the flames fizzles out. Not surprising, given they were in an ocean.

"And to top it off, we can't even leave this place until we've finished restoring the hearts. Someone just make it stop!"

"But Lea, look at how pretty you are," Ventus said, as if he were trying to help point out the silver lining, but really just laughing at the fact that Lea's mermaid tail was rather glamorous, with long flowing fins that were probably 2% functional and 500% decorative.

"It's not fair! If I have to be stuck here, I could at least look cool! I mean, Sora's a shark, you're a flying fish, and I'm a freaking goldfish!"

Ventus self-consciously smoothed the extra fins along the side of his tail.

"Lea, the sooner you stop complaining and we get to work, the sooner we can get out of here. Now I bet if we head to the shore we'll find Ariel on the beach," Sora said brightly.

Not only did they find Ariel on the beach, but also her husband was with her, and his dog, and also a seagull and a crab and a blue-striped yellow fish. All of whom were friends of Sora's. Next they went down to King Triton's palace to awaken the Sea King and his other daughters and various other subjects who Sora knew. Lea sulked everywhere they went.

"Why couldn't we just show up on land? None of this ridiculous fin-flipping."

"Because then we'd miss out on the glory of your fins flipping you over. You're really bad at this Lea."

"Well pardon me if I don't exactly have lots of practice like you do Sora."

"Ven's doing fine and he hasn't been here before."

"Ven doesn't have these stupid trailing fins. And since when is he Ven to you? It was always Ventus before so why the sudden change? Are you trying to leave me out?"

"Ven's what my friends call me. And since we're friends, that's what you and Sora can call me."

Lea was not so easily pacified. And Sora didn't help by volunteering them all for Sebastian's new musical, with rehearsals starting immediately.

"But Lea, weren't you the singer for a band once?" Sora asked.

"Not in this life I wasn't ever."

As Sora bumped into another old friend, the world finished rebuilding, and Lea raced eagerly back to the emptiness, with Sora and Ventus following behind him.


	42. Vanitas Just Keeps Coming Back

At least he wasn't carrying Riku and Donald. At least he wasn't being the human pack mule again. At least he had his hands free in case the fact that they were following the most unsavory character around led to a fight he was ready.

Terra did not like that they were following Vanitas as if they could actually trust him.

He was trying very hard to look on the bright side and be optimistic. Ven was always telling him to do that. Of course, that was easy for Ven to say when he was naturally happy-go-lucky.

"Geez, Terr, lighten up. Didn't I help you guys out of that tight spot with Braig?"

"Hmph."

"So don't you think even a smidgen of trust is in order?"

"No."

"And I even handed you that world heart. Made it nice and easy for you. Haven't I proved that I can kinda be a nice guy by now?"

"You ditched us."

"And then I brought you your master."

"And then ditched us again."

"And now I'm here to guide you, because I'm such a helpful guy."

"You're full of it."

"Terrrrrrr."

"Ra. TerRA. Not Terr. Don't call me that. It sounds ridiculous."

"But Terra sounds so girly."

"Shut up and get lost."

"But if I leave, then you'll be the ones getting lost. And we can't have that, now, can we?"

Riku bent over and whispered something to Donald, who nodded and cast Thunder a few inches from Vanitas's nose. Vanitas idly waved a hand as if a fly had buzzed in front of his face.

Finally, Terra could see something up ahead. A world. Not a heart, but an actual world. And it wasn't one of the ones they'd completed.

Vanitas waved an arm as if to indicate they should go first, and they all proceeded into the world, Terra with his keyblade ready in case it was a trap.

"Terra!" someone yelled, and he was greeted with a hug.


	43. Impatience

It was nice to finally take a break. As nice as it had been to be useful and draw worlds back into life, it took its toll. So here in Yen Sid's Tower, it was nice to sit back and relax. And enjoy a nice cup of juice.

After the Coliseum, they had been rather busy, and Namine had been on her last dregs of energy when Eraqus had showed up and told them they had done enough. He had brought them to the Tower. There they met up with Yen Sid and Isa. A boy called Vanitas had also been there at the beginning, but Aqua clearly detested him, and he apparently had "business elsewhere", so he was gone the morning after they arrived.

There were plenty of stars in the sky now. There were all the worlds they'd restored, and about 15 to 20 more. Namine was having a hard time keeping count anymore.

"Wow, everyone's been busy," she said.

"Yes they have, although some of those worlds were restored quite naturally by the light of the princesses of heart. They restored their own worlds, you see."

But the one thing about being here was that now they had to wait. They were the first ones to arrive, though Eraqus told them that all their friends would end up here sooner or later. She just needed to be patient.

Namine was just about out of patience.

The first arrivals were Terra, Riku, and Donald Duck. Namine stood awkwardly on the side while Aqua embraced her old friend, and Donald and Goofy had their reunion as well. Riku joined her, also feeling left out. For lack of other options, the two of them ended up talking a bit. They ended up trading stories about Kairi, and talking about Sora and Roxas a bit as well.

But in the end, it just made Namine all the more impatient for everyone to return.


	44. Star Shard

"Mickey, what's that shining in your pocket?"

Mickey looked down, surprised to see his pouch glowing. He opened it, and pulled out the star shard. He had almost forgotten he had it.

The three of them huddled over the star shard.

"Oh hey, you had that when Yen Sid destroyed the worlds. The star shard, right?"

"Yup. I think it has a destination for us now."

Mystified, Roxas and Kairi both reached out to touch it. The moment their hands connected, the three of them felt themselves picked up by some force and went rocketing through the worlds. It looked more like they were used to see, with the worlds separated by the lanes in-between. There was a lot less gray than there had been lately.

The star shard slowed its momentum and gently deposited them outside a tower.

Four figures came pelting out.

"Kairi!"

"Roxas! Kairi!"

"Your majesty!"

Riku picked Kairi up when he reached them. Namine hugged Roxas, then hugged Kairi and Riku together, and then kissed Roxas.

Donald and Goofy tackled their king.

Roxas had been worried a bit about the fact that he didn't truly have a home, but he'd heard home was where the heart was, and his was with these people. These wonderful friends he had.


	45. Bad Idea

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ventus asked.

"Relax, Lookalike. It's not like we didn't kinda do this once already."

"Yeah Ven, it'll be fine."

Those sounded like famous last words to Ventus. It was one thing to have two passengers on his keyblade glider in the relative safety of Disneytown, but the lanes between? This was suicide.

"Guys, I don't think-"

"Hey, look at that!" Ventus didn't get to see whatever "that" was, since Sora lunged as he pointed to "that" and put them off balance. The glider careened out of control, and it was all they could do to stay on.

Sights flashed past them. Worlds, lights, incomprehensible at the speeds they were traveling at. They were going to crash.

They crashed. Ventus silently thanked the masters for his armor, which was nicely padded on the inside. At the same time, Lea and Sora silently cursed the masters for the same reason, since the armor wasn't so padded on the outside, and was rather uncomfortable to land on top of.

"I told you guys it was a bad idea," Ventus said. If either of them replied, he missed it however, because Terra was hauling him to his feet, and Aqua was there too and beyond them he could see Roxas hugging both Lea and Sora while Kairi and Namine and Riku watched on with amusement.

"Hey Ven-ven, you're back!" Vanitas said, but he was shoved aside by Terra.

"Riku, why are there teeth marks on your keyblade?" Sora could be heard asking.

"I was a lion!"

"So? My keyblade doesn't have teeth marks, and I've been to the Pridelands too."

"Well pardon me for having sharper teeth than you. At least I didn't go about restoring worlds backwards. You're supposed to restore the world, THEN the people, you dimwit."

"It's not like there's a manual for how to do it you know. And if there's a right and wrong way, I'd say using darkness was the wrong way, pea-brain."

"At least I have a brain!"

Their squabbling deteriorated from there. It was good to be together again.

As the reunions calmed down a bit, Ventus remembered an important order of business.

"Oh! Roxas!" he said, running over to the boy who could have been his twin. "You've gotta see this. We went to Atlantica, and-"

"And you can stop right there, Lookalike. Wait, how did you get pictures?"

"Pictures of what?" Roxas asked.

Isa took the pictures from Ventus's hand.

"Wow Lea. You were supposed to be restoring hearts, not breaking them."

Roxas peered over his shoulder. "You must have been a real hit with the mermaids."

"Why yes, I do have a way of attracting the ladies, but fancy-fins have nothing to do with it, so give. Me. Those!" Lea snatched the photos and they burst into flames.

"Don't worry, both Sora and I have extras," Ventus whispered conspiratorially to Roxas.

Roxas laughed, and handed over Ventus's souvenir. He'd already given the others theirs. "So how come _you're_ the lookalike?" he asked. Ventus shrugged.

"I don't question him."

"Yeah, Lea likes doing his own thing, doesn't he?"


	46. Reformed (Final Chapter)

"Congratulations everyone, you have defeated the thirteen hearts of darkness and restored the balance," Yen Sid told them. "And now that we're all here, I really must apologize. I really didn't _mean_ to destroy the worlds. It just kinda happened."

Unfortunately, Yen Sid had chosen the middle of the reunion party to say this. Sure, it was already the third day running of the party, but who cared about that. There weren't any rules about how much cake and ice cream you could have after reuniting with the best friends you would ever have or anything.

Only Aqua heard and responded.

"It's okay, master. We all know you can't help it you're so powerful. Terra, if you have any more of that Rockin' Crunch ice cream, you're going to get sick!"

Throughout the party, there had been debate about living arrangements for everyone. Should Kairi return to Radiant Garden? Should Lea and Isa? Maybe Kairi could stay in Destiny Islands and Namine could live with her grandmother? And Sora was insisting Roxas should live with him, but Lea wanted them to be roommates, and Vanitas wanted to know why he couldn't live with Sora and his parents.

"Why don't you all just come to the Land of Departure and train with us?" Ventus asked.

Eventually, Ventus's suggestion was decided to be best. Aqua in particular seemed to like it, though when asked why, she gave a fervent and irrelevant argument that no she was not planning to take vacations to the Coliseum to see Zack.

There was one last order of business though. Yen Sid called them outside one night, and they all looked at the sky together. As they watched, stars winked back into existence. One there. Then another. Until several were reappearing at once. They had done it. They'd rebuilt the universe.

Their battle was finally over. Time for sea-salt ice cream and boyfriends and chatting on the beach and making wayfinders and mark of mastery exams and all the other plans they had made for the future.

Because now the future was theirs.


End file.
